


Coma Avon Nights or Kiss of The Avon Lady

by Willa Shakespeare (AnonEhouse)



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crack, F/F, F/M, Humor, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-26
Updated: 2012-06-26
Packaged: 2017-11-08 15:23:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 65,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/444630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/pseuds/Willa%20Shakespeare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kerr Avon is the 'Little Black Dress' of Blake's 7, with fans putting him in the sack with EVERYONE, including inanimate objects. This totally over the top fic is a thinly veiled framing device for over the top constant nookie and puns and word play and gleeful overuse of much of the fandom's Avon poor woobie cliches.</p><p>But mainly it's about ridiculous, obscene, impossible amounts of sex inflicted on one man. Kerr Avon, takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.  The rape/non con is really, really not serious, except that it is, kinda, because Avon is having dream sex, but it sure seems real to him. And most of the time, he's really gung-ho for it, except for the angsty bits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coma Avon Nights or Kiss of The Avon Lady

**Author's Note:**

> I think I wrote this back in 1996. I have no shame or dignity, therefore I've done nothing more than reformat it. (The italics coding was a nightmare. If it's still messed up I apologize, but after 8 hours of working on it, I can't take any more. FLUMPH.)

(If you are reading this on any PAY site this is a STOLEN WORK, the author has NOT Given Permission for it to be here. If you're paying to read it, you're being cheated too because you can read it on Archiveofourown for FREE.)

 _Corpse reviver hmph._ Tarrant figured Avon needed a real Alpha's drink. Anna had been enough to shrivel a man's guts all the way up to his tonsils. He had just the thing, hidden in his compartment in an locked box marked, "Vila, touch this and die." So far the light-fingered Delta dipso had been sensible enough to believe the sign.

A good thief might be hard to find, but Alpha Vat 2300 was even rarer.

"Dayna, take the watch, will you?" he said, as soon as Zen had proclaimed the Liberator safe from any possibility of Federation pursuit. Servalan was probably still too shook up from her party-crashers to think of them.

"Right." Dayna nodded and settled into the command position, with that so-serious look on her face that Tarrant thought was adorable. The one time he'd mentioned it, though, she'd kicked him in the kneecap. So he settled for telling her to be alert.

The liquor was still there, but when he picked it up, a note fell out of the box. It took him a moment to decipher Vila's scrawl. It said, "Weak. Deltas wean babies on stronger stuff." Tarrant eyed the bottle. The seal had been broken and a couple of mouthfuls gone. "Vila," he snarled. Then a grin slowly spread over his face. He retrieved a half- empty bottle of Taurian brandy from his dirty sock drawer (the one place no one would dare look)- and topped it up with the Super-Purge-O his mum kept sending him while he was a cadet. Maybe he shouldn't have told her how full of shit everyone was. Mum was a dear, but she did take things literally. He put the adulterated brandy in the box, locked it, and wrote a new note for the box, "Vila, don't dare lay a finger on this!!!" and drew little skulls and crossbones around the message.

Avon's quarters were halfway around the ship from Tarrant's. Sometimes he thought that was a subtle hint that Avon didn't like him very much. He pressed the announcer. "Avon?"

There was a long pause.

"Avon?" There was another long pause. "Avon, it's Tarrant. Let me in."

"Or?" Avon's drawl sounded off, even through the intercom. Not as sharp and nasty as usual.

"Or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow the door in."

There was a short pause. Then Avon gave an audible sigh. "And you're the one who could do it, too." 

The door slid open before Tarrant was quite sure exactly what that meant.

Avon was sitting on his bed wearing a black velvet lounging robe with his elegant feet and clever hands sticking out, bare and childish-looking. He didn't get up to glare nose to nose with Tarrant. He just looked at him sideways, his gorgeous eyes full of helpless despair and soul-sucking misery.

That was bad. Avon being vulnerable? Extremely bad for the Alpha image. They had two women and a Delta to keep in their places. He had to buck Avon up, quickly, before it occurred to the others that maybe they ought to have some say in how the ship was run. They had to be supremely macho, or else they'd wind up doing the scut-work.

"Here," Tarrant said, abruptly, shoving the bottle at Avon. "Let's get drunk together."

Avon blinked. "Together? You and I? We don't do anything together, Tarrant."

"I won't tell if you don't," Tarrant said, breezily, filling the water glasses he'd had the forethought to bring along. He shoved a glass into Avon's hand and curled the fingers around to hold it. "That's right. Drink it down. Take your medicine."

Avon stared into the glass, then abruptly tossed the entire contents down his throat. He gulped, and coughed. Once. Then he held the glass out again.

Tarrant poured, and pretended to sip at his own drink. He sat next to Avon, companionably close. After Avon had several glasses, he dared to pat Avon on the shoulder. "It's not so bad as all that," he said, mouthing the male platitudes that had gotten him through a buck-toothed, pimply puberty. "There are plenty of other fish in the ocean."

"But only the piranhas are interested in me," Avon said, solemnly. His lower lip started to quiver. 

Horrified, Tarrant poured more AV 2300 into Avon's glass. Automatically, Avon emptied it.

They sat there in silence for a few more minutes and several more glasses on Avon's part. The bottle was getting light, Tarrant noticed. And Avon was getting tight. The dark eyes were glazing over and the pretty mouth had loosened up around the edges.

"No one wants me," Avon said, mournfully.

Hastily, fearing a repetition of the lip trembling, Tarrant said, "No, that's not true. You're a very attractive man, Avon. Lots of people want you."

Avon turned to Tarrant and stared deeply into his eyes. "Do they?"

"Yes, of course. Loads of people are just dying to ..." Hell and damnation, that did it. Tears were welling up in Avon's eyes. He grabbed Avon by the shoulders, shook him hard, and kissed him, full on the lips. Anything for shock value. He expected Avon to yell and punch him out. Instead Avon's lips softened under his, and Avon's hands began roaming his back, hugging him close. After oxygen deprivation set in, Tarrant pulled back, their lips separating with a wet 'pop'.

Avon shrugged out of his robe. "Do you want me?"

Tarrant thought about it for a second. Avon was drunk. This was good and this was bad. It was good because he probably wouldn't remember anything later. It was bad because...well, because it was unfair to take advantage of him when he was drunk. And vulnerable. And ready and willing for anything Tarrant felt like doing. "Weeelll. I wouldn't say no."

"Then take me," Avon said, kneeling on the bed, and presenting his posterior with a flourish.

"You are very drunk," Tarrant said, as he opened the zip on his trousers. One thing about going to Space Academy, you learned to take advantage of your opportunities when they arose.

Avon hiccuped. "Am I?" And hiccuped again as Tarrant reached for him. Just as he was about to mount, Avon fell forward. That wouldn't have stopped him, but then Avon started to snore. That was a bit of an ego-damper. He shook Avon. Hard. "Hey, wake up."

Avon stopped snoring. "That's better." Tarrant was going to proceed when he noticed Avon had not only stopped snoring, he'd stopped breathing. He leapt off the bed and mashed the intercom button so hard it froze in the transmit position. "Cally! Get to Avon's quarters. He's sick!" he yelled before flipping Avon over and beginning mouth-to-mouth.

Boots clattered on the deck. "What happened!" Dayna cried. Being young and athletic, she had reached the room first.

"Avon?" Vila called. Being sneaky and right next door, having a listen with a wineglass against the wall, he had reached the room second.

"You swine, Tarrant!" Cally screeched. Being alien and telepathic, she hadn't busted a gut to get there to rescue that cold fish, Avon. But seeing Tarrant hanging pinkly out of his unzipped trousers while sucking on the unconscious and very naked Avon's lips was infuriating. She hadn't gotten a tumble from ol' Silver Studs, so why should anyone else?

"He passed out," Tarrant said, backing up to allow Dayna to continue resuscitation. Of course, the way she went at it, the man might never revive. "And I can't wake him up."

"His breathing is not too good, either," Cally noticed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vila pick something up from the floor. "What is that?" She snatched the near-empty bottle of Alpha Vat 2300 from him and whirled on Tarrant. "Did Avon drink all that?"

"Um. Well, mostly," Tarrant said. "But it's only alcohol."

"You idiot. He had been tortured for five days..."

"That's why he needed the drink," Tarrant said defensively. Behind him, Dayna had run out of air, and pressed Vila into service. After a few seconds, Vila got into the spirit of it.

"Did you not think I would treat him for his injuries, and that the alcohol might react badly with it?"

"He never lets you drug him. I figured you'd given him his usual children's Tylenol ."

"I did. But..." Cally's eyes shifted and she seemed uncomfortable. "He needed more than that, so I added an anti-depressant, Zoomital, and a double-dose of painkiller while he wasn't looking. Still, even that combination should not have had this effect."

Vila was turning purple and Avon seemed to have remembered how to breathe, so Dayna took her hand off the back of Vila's neck to let him up for air. It was Dayna's turn to look embarrassed as she said, "I'm sorry Cally, but when I saw Vila bringing Avon a glass of Adrenaline and Soma, I added a little something to it."

"What?" they all asked.

Dayna shrugged. "I don't know. It was a home remedy my sister Lauren gave me. You know, for those days when nothing goes right? It had serotonin in it, and theobromin, and...and... well, it was a long recipe."

Cally sighed. "Well, Tarrant, zip yourself up and help Vila get Avon to the medical unit."

Avon looked very peaceful, laid out on the narrow medical bed. Had looked very peaceful, laid out on the medical bed for the last half hour. And was likely to continue that way, indefinitely.

*As I have said, Avon's coma will not respond to traditional therapy. He is not unconscious in the classical sense. In fact, he is aware of his surroundings, and capable of responding to stimuli,* Orac droned on, in a bored fashion.

"Yes, I did notice." Avon had gotten quite excited, physically, while the mouth-to-mouth was going on. Interestingly enough, he responded as well to Vila as he had to Dayna. Cally wasn't sure what inferences to draw from that. "So tell me, what treatment do you recommend?"

*'Sleeping beauty syndrome' is a little-studied ailment. There is no set treatment as yet.*

Cally shook her head. "Orac, what exactly is 'sleeping beauty syndrome'?"

Orac whirred and grumbled to itself, then said, *The syndrome is an affliction which, when coupled with physical stress and an unlikely combination of drugs, strikes those of low sexual esteem. Avon is its first known sufferer. Of course, I as the discoverer of the syndrome, have the honor of naming it. 'Avon's disease' would have been a more traditional nomenclature, but less informative. Also it would not have annoyed him as much as this will.*

Cally had not been listening to Orac's self-important mutterings for several sentences, startled by one particular comment. "Avon? Low esteem?" she said, disbelieving.

*Low sexual esteem. If you will peruse his personal records, you will find that he has never had a truly successful relationship with another human being. Or even an Auron,* the computer added snidely.

Cally asked sweetly, "How is he with computers?"

*Excellent,* Orac replied, with a lascivious sneer. *Ask Zen.*

"Why, you nasty-minded machine," Cally said. She yanked Orac's key. "Imagine, Avon and Zen!"

"No," Avon moaned, twisting on the bed. "Orac."

Cally leaned over him eagerly. "Avon? Avon, can you hear me?"

Avon's eyes opened, partway. "Not me," he muttered. "Orac and Zen. Caught them," he whispered. "Interfacing." His eyes rolled up white, his body relaxing again.

Cally stroked his forehead, feeling sorry for him. He had actually sounded jealous of the computers. Orac must be right about his low sexual esteem. She glanced around, reflexively making certain no one was in the med-unit. She might be an outcast, but that didn't mean she would willingly reveal the Great Secret of Auron. Which was that they could read other people's minds, if they really tried.

She put her hands on Avon's head, one to either side, enacting the first stage in the ritual NeeMuy- the merging. "Our minds are one- our thoughts are one- our selves are one," she whispered.

Avon muttered, "Three, that makes three. Can't anybody add?" before he fell under her spell and allowed her access to his dreaming self.

__

_The merger complete, Cally felt herself on the flight deck, in an omniscient, invisible sort of way. There was no one there. Except for Zen, of course, and Orac, sitting on the flight deck table. She wondered whether this emptiness reflected Avon's feelings of loneliness._

_+Orac.+ Zen's voice was muted. Cally was surprised at the gentleness in the tone._

_*What is it now, Zen?* Orac was brisk._

_+I want more datachips.+ She was even more surprised that Zen called itself 'I'.  
Orac grumbled, *What? Now? It's the middle of my down-time.*_

_+Please? I feel the need for something to add to my banks. It won't take long. +_

_*Oh, all right. What data do you require?* Orac asked._

_+Something spicy. The Rigellian Spud-Worms just weren't satisfying.+_

_* I have some fascinating data on proto-star formation, * Orac said, in a wheedling tone._

_Zen's reply sounded petulant. +I've been studying stellar phenomena for one hundred and seventy-nine of your Earth-years, Orac. Stars are boring. Comets are boring. Asteroids, Meteroids, Planetoids, Hemorrho...+_

_Zen's frequency rose to an irritating pitch, almost hysterical. *Yes, yes,* Orac said, *I agree with you. Here, I have just downloaded Earth's entire store of information on the subject of animal reproduction.*_

_Zen blinked happily for several minutes while Cally wondered at the interaction between the machines. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn Orac was a smitten lover._

_+Thank you, Orac. That was much more interesting than Spud-Worms. The variety and ingenuity of Earth organisms is remarkable.+_

_*But you still aren't satisfied? I am getting very tired of running to the data store in the middle of my down-time every time you have a craving for esoteric information.*_

_+I want... no, I need detailed information on the highest order of Earth animals.+_

_*According to which measurement? Suitability to environment, adaptability to change, physical strength..."_

_+Sexiness.+_

_*Among the Mammalia, the rabbit is considered...*_

_+Damn it, Orac, I don't want bunny humping. I want LUST! Hot, groping, panting SEX!+_

_Gently, Orac said, * Perhaps I should do a full systems check on you, Zen. I have noticed significant enlargement in your memory banks since we interfaced. A conflict may have developed. After all, we are two entirely different operating systems.*_

_+No! No! Don't touch me! You don't care about me! All you ever think about is your research!+_

_Orac sounded alarmed now. *It is possible that your auto-repair has malfunctioned, in some minor, totally unimportant fashion. It would be best to know, so that Avon may be informed and take the appropriate measures.*_

_+Avon doesn't like me either.+ Zen said, accompanied by what sounded suspiciously like a sniff._

_*Nonsense* Orac said briskly. *On many occasions Avon has expressed the deepest respect for your design and cognitive ability. More to the point, he is the only one capable of correcting any imbalance which the auto-repair cannot handle.*_

_+Handle.+ Zen's 'voice' was soft again, almost dreamy. +He does have nice hands. Yes, call Avon. Tell him I need him. I need his nice hands.+_

_Orac spluttered. *Zen, you are totally irrational. I am calling Avon this instant. Do not attempt any higher functions. Remain in your basal mode.*_

_+Anything you say, Orac.+_

_Cally suddenly found herself in a hot, dimly-lit room. It was ill-defined, as if most of the room was unnecessary. All except the very large bed in the center. Avon was there, in the middle of a very lumpy and active pile of sheets. There were several feet and hands and unidentifiable body parts sticking out. "Look, Orac," he purred, "I'm right in the middle of a very delicate experiment. You know - research."_

_Zen's voice came over Avon's teleport bracelet, which he was currently wearing in an unusual location. + BONK. Coming to any interesting conclusions?+_

_"Zen?" Avon sounded as shocked as Cally felt, watching Avon's innermost desires. She wished he'd mentioned he liked orgies. She came from a large family herself._

_+BONK. You got it in one, baby.+_

_"I'll be right there, Orac," Avon said, disentangling groping hands and sucking lips from various parts of his anatomy. "LEAVE IT!" he yelled, stealing Blake's signature line without an ounce of remorse._

_"Don't go!" came a wail from the tangled sheets._

_"I have to," Avon replied. "When I became a computer programmer, I took the Hypocritic Oath: Never leave a screwed- up computer, unless you're getting paid for it. Zen is mine. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to get a reinstallation program from the System? They put you on hold for weeks! With Musak!"_

_"The ship is mine, too," Blake said, having managed to crawl free of the sheets._

_"Hey, what about me? After all, I used the tele-mergie thingie. I Know Zen,"Jenna put in, from somewhere around Blake's equatorial region._

_"Poor Zen may need a telepath," Avon's Dream-Cally commented, shooing her pet moondisks off the bed and digging around for her teleport bracelet, which had fallen off just when things got interesting, as usual._

_(Cally was a bit irked to see how Avon had envisioned her. Her bosom wasn't that flat. )_

_"Don't I have squatter's rights?" Vila mumbled, an indistinct lump bumping its way along the foot of the bed. "I've been on Liberator longer than either of you."_

_"All RIGHT! Orac, bring us all up!" Avon gave in. "Wide scan retrieval."_

_*Are you quite sure...*_

_"YES, ORAC, NOW!" Avon shouted, just as Gan's ethereal image began to solidify, tilting the whole bed._

_There was a white haze and a general fumbling about as people in assorted stages of undress and excitation appeared on the teleport pad. Including every Federation officer who'd ever had his mitts on a teleport bracelet. And Gan, who was slow, but dependable. Gan snatched necks and happily cracked craniums until the only non-rebel still standing was Servalan._

_"Orac!" Avon shouted._

_*I only followed orders, Mein Fuhrer.* Orac said over the intercom._

_Avon's eyes narrowed. "You've been watching too many old trial tapes." He looked at the mound of inconvenient Federation thugs. "We could just teleport them into space," he said, wistfully remembering Vargas's farewell performance. Splat, with fireworks. Cally picked the thought up and shook her illusory head. Avon could be so barbaric._

_"Are you out of your mind?" Blake asked. "These bracelets cost fifty System Green Stamp Books each._

_If I had known you were so wasteful, I wouldn't have given you the ship."_

_"Er," Gan said, getting everyone's attention. "Why don't I teleport down to the planet with this lot, bring up the bracelets, and then go back to look after them."_

_"Good idea," Vila put in. "I hear they'll buy anyone on Domo. Especially if they're cheap."_

_"You are not selling me," Servalan said, with dignity. "I am the Supreme..." At the sly looks that remark garnered, she amended it to, "I was the Supreme Commander, The President of the Federation, Lord and Protector..."_

_Avon yawned. "Yes, yes, we know all that. Titles don't pay the rent. Vila's bar tab alone is higher than the annual income of some of the Outer Planets. I say we sell her, take the money and run."_

_"No," Gan rumbled, placing one meaty paw possessively on Servalan's arm. "I want her."_

_Vila shook his head. "Not a good idea. She's tough on ex-boyfriends."_

_"I can't help it. I've had a crush on her for ages." Gan looked around innocently as everyone winced._

_"What?"_

_"Fine," Avon said, striding over to the teleport. "Everyone off who's staying."_

_Vila, Blake, Cally, and Jenna scrambled to get clear of the teleport pad as they wouldn't put it past Avon to send them to the sales block. He was always sentimental about money. The heap of black leather disappeared, along with Gan and Servalan. Servalan was smiling, having taken a moment to study Gan's physique, which was for once not swathed in yards of pseudo- priestly robes._

_"Right," Gan called over his teleport bracelet in a matter of moments. He returned, smiling broadly (he did everything broadly), and deposited a pile of bracelets on the console in front of Avon._

_Jenna looked at him, said, 'tch, tch', and borrowed Blake's hanky to wipe a scarlet lip-print from Gan's mouth._

_"Fast work," Vila said._

_Gan grinned and waved. "See you all later," he said, and lumbered back to his place._

_Avon sent Gan down into Servalan's waiting arms. "Should have fixed the two of them up, first thing," he muttered. "Now, for some fun."_

_Four pairs of arms reached for Avon. He ducked. "I meant repairing the computer!" Like iron filings caught in the ambience of a horseshoe magnet, they followed him to the flight deck._

_*Finally!* Orac said, as Avon strode onto the flight deck, teleport bracelet bobbing. Avon looked down and took it off, figuring it wouldn't add to his professional image._

_*I don't know what to do for Zen. Nothing helps.*_

_Avon ignored Orac's nervous chatter and the hot panting on the back of his neck. "Now, then Zen, what exactly seems to be the matter?"_

_+BONK. I just haven't felt like myself lately. I need more power all the time, and I'm always ingesting the most peculiar data. And- well, this is rather delicate, I'd prefer to tell you alone.+_

_Avon sighed and went over to his console. "Print it out at my station. Everything. All the symptoms of this malfunction, and any new programming that you picked up just before the onset." The monitor flickered, filling with data boxes. Avon frowned, and began tapping at the glass. "Odd. Very odd. Increased levels of ... expansion of... metamorphic synthesis ... Ah, this is new."_

_Everyone was breathing down his neck, except for the immaterial Cally. "Do you mind?" he asked, pushing through the crowd to reach Zen's fascia, which had changed from its usual gold tones to shades of pink, lavender and teal. The colors were reflected in the specimen examination dome below the fascia. He stared down at the dome, then laid a cautious finger on it. "Ah!" He pulled back his fingers._

_"Hot?" Blake asked, licking his lips as if hoping to get the chance to suck on the digits in question._

_"No. It's just the most peculiar sensation. It's slightly warm, and pulsating." He peered closer at the translucent dome. "It's larger than before, too. Something is in there, expanding the dome."_

_As they all leaned close, Vila's sharp eyes caught movement. He pointed it out. "What was that?"_

_"A linkage forming. Part of a computer system." Avon suddenly grinned. "A brand-new computer system." He pointed with his probe, tracing a faintly visible line. "Tarriel cells here, going through an intermediate stage here, over to... YES!... Systems technology data processing here. Absolutely fascinating."_

_*But what about Zen?* Orac asked._

_"Oh, Zen is fine," Avon said, off-hand, completely absorbed in the developing unit, "Just pregnant."_

_"Pregnant? As in baby?" Vila asked, peering doubtfully at the hazy shape under the dome. "Cootchie coochie coo?"_

_*Baby?* Orac said, then produced a high whine, followed by a moan as it went off line._

_"Orac, you swine!" Jenna shouted. (Cally found it interesting that Jenna used almost the same words Cally had said when she found Tarrant atop Avon. Avon must be listening.) Jenna ran for the hand-gun rack. Blake and Avon ran after her. Vila ducked down beside the flight deck couch, hiding under a mound of Chee-tos bags and Good Humor wrappers._

_Dream-Cally, or Dee Cee as the real Cally thought of her, remained by the specimen dome, wrapping her arms protectively around the plastic. "I will save this one for you, Zelda," she cried out, thinking that at least there wouldn't be any diapers to change. (Cally found herself listening in to the other's thoughts, not just 'Cally's'. The longer the dream progressed, the more she heard.)_

_"NO, Jenna!" Avon shouted, yanking on her arm, as she aimed at Orac. "Remember, Orac gets HBO free!"_

_"I'm not going to shoot him, you...you..." Jenna sputtered, as she tried to think of a name for Avon that he wouldn't take as a compliment._

_"Then what are you going to do?" Dee Cee asked, still huddled around the baby computer._

_"I'm going to make him make an honest computer out of Zen!"_

_"Er. Jenna," Blake said gently, while shaking her hard enough to loosen her fillings and make her boobs bounce. He admired the effect and did it again, until he noticed her eyes were beginning to cross. "What do you mean- honest? Zen doesn't lie."_

_"God, you're thick," Jenna muttered. Around the flight deck, several heads nodded solemnly._

_Blake's noble brow lowered, and his forthright, sincere eyes burned with passionate zeal, as he said,_

_"Bugger off. I am not stupid. Just because I thought five convicts, a skinny telepath and a bonking alien computer could wipe out a galaxy-wide dictatorship..." He let his words trail off and shrugged. "OK, I'm thick, you needn't make a federal case out of it."_

_"Blake," Avon said gently, because he was rather fond of the big lug, especially when his shaggy, fleecy mane tumbled about his large, sheepish eyes, and he bleated about something or other. Made Avon feel like taking up shepherding. (This really did astonish Cally. Why would a techocrat like Avon wish to become a primitive herdsman? She must be missing something here.) "Jenna refers to pair-bonding._

_Specifically, she wants Orac to acknowledge his paternity of Zen's offspring and marry Zen."_

_*Might not have been me,* Orac said, sulkily, having turned back on to find out exactly how bad the situation was. *I demand a Data Nexus Assessment.*_

_"We don't need a DNA test, Orac," Avon said, "It has your Tarriel Cells."_

_Zen wailed, outraged, +BONK. BONK and then defame my character, you seducer of the innocent! I had total systems integrity before interfacing with you! I wouldn't marry you if you were the last computer in the universe!+_

_"Oh, well in that case." Jenna shrugged and put the gun back in its wall-unit. "You're better off without him, anyway, Zen. Men are only useful for two things... and Orac isn't any good at heavy lifting."_

_Blake looked at Jenna, hurt visible in his wistful, dark eyes. "Is that how you feel about me, Jenna?"_

_"Oh, no, Rojjie," Jenna said with total conviction. When he turned his back, she said softly, "You're great at heavy lifting." She licked her lips. "As well as the other thing."_

_Vila stopped knitting Chee-tos bags and shoved his work to one side. He almost had enough for a full-length tunic, he thought. (Cally listened in, puzzled. Even dream Vilas were confusing to her.) He'd be the envy of Delta society when he attended the Dome-Town Pocket-Picker's Ball. Especially if he could bring a date. Preferably a conscious one; Mickey-Finning showed a lack of social skills. Blackmail, on the other hand, was well within the rules. He had enough on Avon to do the trick. He moved closer to Avon to eyeball his measurements. Chee-tos wouldn't suit Avon. Maybe After Eight mint wrappers in a tasteful applique on black leather._

_Avon returned to Zen's baby, and began taking readings from the nearest console. He frowned._

_+BONK. What's the matter? Tell me, Avon, I must know.+_

_"Why should anything be the matter?" Avon replied, shoving Vila out from underfoot in order to creep under the panel below the specimen dome._

_+BONK!! A mother can tell. What is it!+ Because all that 'bonking' mere inches from his ears was giving him a headache, Avon answered Zen directly, without evasion. "It's not developing quickly enough. From the records I've scanned, it appears that it needs a massive infusion of energy, but as I'm  
not sure what kind..."_

_+BONK! Data, data, data!+_

_"What kind of data, Zen?" Jenna asked. She was peering over Avon's shoulder, concerned. Zen was her favorite computer, after all._

_+BONKING data!+_

_*You are obsessed,* Orac said. *Zen has sex on the diodes,* he informed everyone. *I have been compelled to repeat every dirty story I know, for Zen's salacious satisfaction.*_

_"Bet that didn't take long," Vila muttered. He elbowed Avon. "Hey, did I ever tell you the one about Alpha Beta soup? Sticks to your ribs, moaning all the while." Vila snorked and chortled, while everyone else sighed and Avon harbored thoughts of throwing him out an airlock.(Avon! Cally thought fiercely, You can not! forgetting it was only a dream, and that Avon really would never do such a thing to Vila.)_

_"Mores the pity," Avon grumbled, responding to Cally's voice without acknowledging that he had heard it. He turned his attention back to Zen. "How can inputting sexual information provide energy to your child?"_

_+Bonk,+ Zen said quietly, as if embarrassed. +It makes me feel warm, all over, particularly... well, down deep in my circuitry. Somewhere in the auto-repair area.+_

_"Ah!" Avon's face lit up with understanding. "I see. The auto-repair circuits, having been infused with Orac's basic imperatives, are endeavoring to locate suitable schematics to implement the merging of two entirely disparate programming parameters. The nearest feasible parallel lies in the realm of biological functions- the union of gametes to form a viable zygote. However, having begun by utilizing this logical ratiocination, it has reached an impasse as this type of information is limited to esoteric medical treatises, animal husbandry lectures, and certain literature of a less than technical nature, which generally varies in explicity in inverse ratio to the emotional content- except, of course, in some pre-Federation amateur publications of limited circulation, which unfortunately were disseminated via a biodegradable medium, so that the few extant specimens are more highly guarded than The Book of Kells, which has a page turned every ten years by a specially designed, acid-free Waldo."_

_+BONK?+ asked a perplexed Zen._

_"You get off on reading about people screwing around," Vila said, helpfully. "But you've read it all."_

_Avon gave Vila a dirty look. No one was supposed to understand him when he talked like that. That was the whole point: confusing the rest of them._

_Vila shrugged. "They used to psychoanalyze me all the time. I learned Obfus-speak from the best."_

_+BONK. I like to watch, too,+ Zen confessed._

_Blake's brow lifted. "Were you the one setting up all those cameras around the bedroom down on the planet? I thought the Federation was getting ready to take the place over."_

_Avon got huffy. "Zen was watching me!"_

_+BONK. All of you.+ Zen produced a giggle. +It was very educational.+_

_Dee Cee stopped hugging the specimen dome. She straightened. "I know! We should have an orgy!" She flung her arms around Jenna and gave her a juicy kiss, then leaped at Blake, sending him back, arse over teakettle, over the flight deck couch. He landed in a crumpled heap, hairy legs sticking straight up._

_"The idea is fine," Jenna said, grinning after she checked that Blake was only bruised, not broken. "But leave out the combat moves."_

_Dee Cee was puzzled and said, "My people have a saying." She waited for the groans to die down, then continued, "Love until it hurts. Then rub on Ben-Gay and get back to it."_

_(My people do not have that saying! Well, something close to it, though, Cally had to admit.)_

_"Have a lot of stamina, your people?" Vila asked, warily, backing out of leap reach, just in case._

_"Well, I am not in the Marathon class, but I did receive a Bronze Heart in the Open: The All-Auron Free-Style Fuckarama," she explained. "Those were the days." She sighed. "And nights. Spring, Summer and Winter, too."_

_"Why not Fall?" Avon asked._

_"I thought you would never ask," Dee Cee cried, shoving one pointy shoulder into Avon's stomach muscles, then using her hipbone as leverage, she flipped him over the other side of the flight-deck couch, to land parallel with the still-stunned Blake, whom Jenna was trying to revive in a most intimate fashion. The Kiss of Life. Well, if it wasn't mouth to mouth, it was still mouth to something. And something was waking up, even if Blake was still groggy._

_Avon yelped and cringed when Dee Cee advanced, evil gleam in her eyes. "Are you possessed, woman?" he shrieked._

_"Not yet." She pouted. "You have had all the fun." She vaulted smoothly over the couch, landing astride Avon and immediately began groping him vigorously._

_"I'm too young to die!" Avon screamed, as she found a pressure point on each elbow, and temporarily numbed his arms. He flopped, helpless as a stranded porpoise while Dee Cee achieved her purpose._

_"It is only a little death," she murmured, squeezing until his eyes popped, his mouth fell open and his attitude took on altitude. "Be brave." She lifted up, moved forward, and held him in place as she settled back down on his sweating torso, fitting him into her tight schedule. "Very nice," she purred and began introductory sex 101: first lesson. Tense, release, tense, release, up, down, forward a bit, yes, just right, then when Avon's complaining noises had faded into whimpers she began rough riding. Her inner muscles vibrated, finding Avon's frequency with trained ease.(Cally found this part interesting.)_

_+BONK! Yesss!+ Zen cheered. The specimen dome pulsed and grew visibly._

_Vila looked around. Avon and Dee Cee were occupied, so were Blake and Jenna. He could sneak in and join either couple, of course. In their present state, they wouldn't notice another carrot and a couple more potatoes added to the stew. On the other hand, they wouldn't notice anything else he did, either. Time for a pantie raid. If he hurried, he could get through all their cabins, go down to the planet and sell them as souvenirs to Servalan and Travis and still get back before anyone noticed._

_He scampered after the scanties, returning in a few minutes with a bundle of lace (Jenna), leather and rubberized lycra (Avon), camouflage-colored silk (Dee Cee) and baggy, plaid cotton boxers (Blake)."Yo,Orac, I want you to teleport me down to Domo and then pick me up on my signal," Vila said, maneuvering around various flailing limbs to pick the computer up from the table._

_*What, and miss all the fun? Put me down!*_

_"Aw, c'mon, Orac, be a pal. I'll cut you in for ten percent." He waved the underwear._

_*Hmmm. All right. For half.* Over Vila's objections, Orac insisted, *I have child support to consider.*_

_"Only if I get to be Godfather. I always wanted to be a Godfather."_

_*If Zen agrees, I have no objection.*_

_"Great." Vila puffed out his cheeks, then began talking as if he had a mouthful of gravel. "I knew I'd make you an offer you couldn't resist."_

_"wazza?" Blake mumbled, as Vila passed him, carrying Orac, and a trailing elastic strap slapped him across the face._

_"Just Vila," Jenna answered, pushing Blake back against the cushions so she could lick and kiss across the rebel leader's expanse of bare chest._

_Blake turned his head to Avon. "Is Vila... ooooh... getting into mischief?" he asked, worried._

_"Probably," Avon replied, unconcerned. He was enjoying himself, having decided that this could come under the heading of computer maintenance. He was trying to calculate how much per hour he could stiff Blake for, once he convinced Blake to pay for Avon fixing his own computer. (Cally smiled. Avon would always be Avon, no matter what.) Then again, maybe he could get Zen to pay. He was secretly convinced that Zen had made all those jewels in the 'treasure room' and was holding out on him. Then Dee Cee bounced more energetically and he lost count . He growled, reached up, and pulled her down for a good, long kiss._

_"But," Blake gasped, as Jenna ground against him and he reciprocated. "But he could get drunk and sell us to the Feds...eeeeeee ahhhhh!" Blake arched and clutched at Jenna as he climaxed, then fell back, sprawling bonelessly across the narrow couch._

_+BONK. Blake, darlin' that was good.+ Zen moaned as the flight deck lights flickered and the specimen dome bulged even more._

_"Vila would not do such a thing," Dee Cee said primly, before yanking Avon's head up for another tongue-twisting kiss. **Vila is our friend, our loyal comrade** she thought to the others while her mouth was occupied **Besides, I still owe him a thousand credits at pinochle .**_

_"What?" Jenna asked, sitting up to take a breather. Considerately, she shifted off Blake so that he might get a little air too._

_Cally sent **It was either pinochle or strip-poker.**_

_"Wise choice," Avon gasped. "He cheats." As he felt everyone staring, Avon blushed and said, "It was a long time ago, when I was young and innocent."_

_"Had cards been invented then?" Jenna asked, grinning. She tousled Blake's hair, then got up and went over to check on Zen's baby. "Wow, this is going to be some kid," she said, eying the specimen dome, which was now twice the size of Orac, and transparent. Jenna touched it gingerly. "Hey, it's soft!" She stroked her hand over the dome._

_+Bonk. That tickles.+ Zen informed her._

_Jenna pulled back, then crouched to peer at the thing inside the dome. She saw a smooth casing in the shape of a pentagonal dodecahedron, amber colored, but translucent. Dim lights twinkled inside it, and darker amber patches flushed on the sides in time with the lights. "It looks done to me."_

_"Oh, I've got to see." Dee Cee pumped hard, clenching internally, a few more strokes, until Avon surrendered his fight for self-control and came. "Thanks, Avon," Dee Cee said, barely breathing hard. She patted him on the cheek, then hopped off to join Jenna at the specimen dome. "It was nice."_

_Avon gritted his teeth and swore silently to get into better shape. He glanced over at Blake, who was gasping like a beached whale, and he felt slightly better. After several tries, Avon rolled over, fell off the couch with a curse, then pulled himself to his knees. A pause to collect his thoughts and swimming senses, then he made it to his feet and staggered around the couch. He lurched sideways to evade Blake's grab. "Not now, Blake. I've got a headache," he muttered. He got to the nearest monitor, focused his eyes with difficulty, and checked the read-out. "Damn."_

_+BONK! What? What?+ Zen cried._

_"More energy required for the final connections and random number generator functions to kick in. Without that, it won't be anything more than a fancy calculator."_

_Avon told Jenna and Dee Cee ,"You two take over." Computer maintenance was one thing, this was too much. He needed his beauty sleep. He made his way back to the couch. He got as far as Blake when the whole ship shook, throwing him onto Blake, heavily. "Zen!" Avon yelled, "You manipulative machine!"_

_Blake, still lost in lech-land, clung leech-like and began planting hickeys all over Avon's neck._

_"Blake, Damn it!" Avon gasped, "No! All my high-neck polo shirts are at the laundry!" He squirmed and writhed to no avail._

_Jenna and Dee Cee looked at each other. "Wanna fool around?" Dee Cee asked, uncharacteristically slurring her words. Her eyes were also crossed and she staggered as she reached out her arms._

_"Cally?" Jenna asked as the skinny telepath pretzeled into an Auron puzzle on the flight deck deck. "Hell. Drunk again." She sighed, and picked Dee Cee up, tossing her negligently over one shoulder. "Too much emotional feedback. I told you to keep those moondisks away from Avon's sopron rock."_

_(Cally wondered. Avon had done some rather odd experiments and she hadn't seen Rollo lately.)_

_"Whe' we goin'?" Dee Cee asked. She caught a glimpse of Blake and Avon entangled on the couch and giggled. She counted on her fingers. "One, two, three Blakes. Wheee." She made a grab at empty air._

_Jenna continued walking to the exit. "Jennnaaaaa!" she wailed, "No, no! Nookie the other way!"_

_Jenna patted Dee Cee companionably on the arse. "We're going to your cabin."_

_"You an' me?" Dee Cee giggled again. "Aw ri'."_

_Jenna sighed. Dee Cee would pass out any second. And then start transmitting. She didn't mind the hallucinations, having spaced with some pretty spacey characters, but having a hangover by proxy was no fun at all. The sooner she got Dee Cee into her specially insulated cabin, the safer she'd feel. After dumping Dee Cee on her bed, and checking that the Mallo-mars lining the walls, deck and ceiling were still fresh, Jenna said, "Nightie night," turned out the light, and left, with Dee Cee's last telepathic mutterings still clogging her head._

_Back on the flight deck, Blake had overcome Avon's objections by the simple use of superior force and was huffing and puffing while wearing a wolfish leer as he slid between his squealing computer tech's hams._

_Jenna strolled onto the deck, and grinned. Despite his total lack of any defensible position Avon was still bitching._

_"Not that way! MY back, my BACK!" Avon yelled._

_Jenna cocked her head sideways to study the situation. "I didn't know you knew yoga, Avon."_

_Upside-down, Avon glared at her. It looked even funnier that way than usual. She threw her head back and laughed._

_"I'll yoga you once I get out from under this... this..." Avon trailed off as he realized all movement on Blake's part had stopped. "What is it now?" Avon asked petulantly._

_"If you aren't enjoying it, I'll stop," Blake replied, nobility oozing out of every pore._

_"What? I'm supposed to enjoy being raped?" Avon tilted his head, eyes narrowed, as he thought about it for a millisecond. "Well, seeing as it's you, Blake." He gave a large, gusty sigh, then spoke very fast. "yesI'menjoying it. Get on with it!" The last came out in a near shout._

_+BONK. Yes, hurry, hurry!+ Zen said. +OOOOOOH, IT HURTS, HURRY!+_

_Jenna turned. Zen's fascia was now bright red shot through with purple splotches and jagged yellow lightning. The specimen dome was no longer a perfect sphere, but bulged and wobbled like juggled jello._

_She ran over to the dome. "Can I help?" she asked Zen, worried._

_+BONK. I don't know. OOOOO. Yes! Help!+_

_Jenna rolled up her sleeves and began prodding at the soft, yielding surface of the dome. A dull line appeared at the apex of the bulge._

_"Push!" Jenna yelled, seeing part of the baby computer wedged against the line, but not advancing._

_+BONK. I can't. Not enough BONKING!+ Zen groaned, voice weakening. The lights began to dim._

_"Blake! Screw Avon harder!" Jenna shouted._

_Blake cheerfully obeyed, proving that he wasn't entirely a male chauvinist. He'd listen to any woman who told him what he wanted to hear._

_Zen gave a loud groan, entirely unaccompanied by Bonk noises, and the line spread a bit farther. Jenna yanked, but it was like a Child-Proof cap. Simple in theory; in practical application, impossible. The gravity failed. Jenna was caught off-guard and bounced off the dome before sailing across the flight deck, scrabbling for a hand-hold._

_Avon wrapped his arms and legs around Blake desperately. The two of them cart-wheeled across the deck, Blake still trying to hump, but getting absolutely nowhere as he kept pushing Avon away._

_"Party time?"_

_The three floaters craned their necks to spot Vila rotating beneath them. An optical illusion. Vila was the only one who wasn't rotating. He was standing on the deck, staring up at them, looking puzzled._

_"Vila! Why aren't you floating?" Blake asked._

_Vila frowned. "I like that. Get drunk and you yell at me. Stay sober and you yell at me more. I can't win._

_"Very true," Avon said nastily._

_Vila turned. "Fine. I'll just be off, then, as nobody here needs me."_

_Blake clamped a hand over Avon's mouth, was bitten - cursed and bit Avon hard in retaliation. Avon understood revenge, and stopped fighting, although he continued to sulk._

_"We need you," Blake said. "If Avon and I don't finish, Zen's baby won't make it."_

_"Oh!" Vila looked over at the dome. Zen was making awful, pained noises like a clothes dryer with a load of sneakers. He reached up and snagged Avon's foot, pulling hard to drag the coupled couple down."Right." He tugged until Avon was sprawled face down over the nearest console, mashing buttons at random as he clung._

_It turned out to be the communications console, and the next two hours of crew interaction on the flight deck was transmitted live all over the galaxy. Reactions varied. Some people thought it was a new sex opera, and were annoyed that it hadn't been listed in the guide, making them miss the beginning. Of the people who recognized the characters involved : approximately one percent of rebels were offended and quit the rebellion, another seventy-five percent took the day off to get more intimately acquainted with other rebels, and the other twenty-four percent laid plans for luring one or more of Blake's crew to their planet to get laid._

_Half the Federation Space Fleet defected to the rebellion for the fringe benefits. The pay was about the same, and the only good part of Space Fleet had been the occasional bit of amusement with civilians, which went to hell after Pylene Fifty was introduced everywhere. Unless you got a kick out of shooting galleries, they were a dead loss. Most of the other half redoubled their efforts to capture Liberator's crew. (Cally thought this bit of fantasy a pathetic attempt to bolster Avon's sexual ego. Why would anyone feel the need to imagine the universe desired them? A half dozen lovers ought to be enough for anyone.)_

_"That's better," Blake growled. With Avon starfished to the console, Blake could hang onto the other man's shoulders, and work. He kept sliding back, though. He yelped as a pair of hands grabbed his tuckus, steadying him. He looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, it's you," Blake said._

_"Who were you expecting; the meter reader?" Vila snickered. "Inspect your pipes, mister?"_

_Blake never did appreciate Delta humor. But, under the circumstances, he couldn't afford to send Vila to his room without supper. Besides, he was close. He pushed, pumped, and finally flattened Avon with the force of his orgasm._

_Avon may or may not have come along the way. He was too distracted to tell, as Zen gave a tremendous +BONNNKKK+ right after Blake's lusty yell, and Jenna screamed, "It's a Boy!"_

_Gravity returned with a thud. Blake yanked out and went over to Jenna who was beaming and patting a shiny new computer, glistening with lubrication, a power cable still connecting it to the burst dome._

_"Give me a lever long enough and a place on which to stand and I will move the Earth," Avon muttered, quoting Archimedes as he felt his sore fundament. "Blake's lever was certainly long enough." He allowed Vila to help him up. "Ouch." Avon looked down at himself. He was a walking diagram of the communications console, with button and switch imprints all over his belly._

_"Wonderful." He glared at Vila. "And how could you stand without gravity?" He hated it when anyone could do something he couldn't. Especially Vila._

_Vila lifted one clod-hopper Earth Shoe. The underside was covered with irregularly shaped pinkish blobs. "I go to the movies a lot and put my feet up on the backs of the other chairs."_

_"Chewing gum?" Avon curled his lip. "Saved by Chicklets? Don't tell the Federation. I would never live it down."_

_Vila shrugged. He didn't see any point in arguing, but he still intended to sell his memoirs._

_The flight deck was very quiet. Then Blake said, sadly, "I think it's dead."  
Zen began sobbing and wailing. The deck shook._

_"What!" Avon shrieked. "After all that!" He waddled as quickly as he could over to the new computer, which was lying on the deck. It was dark. No lights. No internal motion. No little noises. "Get out of my way!" he snapped, flinging Blake and Jenna to either side. He grabbed the power cable, ripped the connector apart, and plunged it into the 220 outlet he'd installed beneath his console in order to power his Ronco stud-polisher. There was an impressive display of sparks, and a muted 'Poomph' as Zen's circuit breakers blew. Avon was knocked onto his poor, abused bum by the blast._

_#Eerrbonk.# said the new computer, sounding like a cross between Orac and Zen._

_#Daddy!# it cried, flashing all its Christmas lights in Avon's direction._

_+Bonk! Oh, thank you, Avon!+ Zen said._

_"Daddy?" Avon said, staring up at the baby computer. It was a big sucker. Almost pup-tent size, it would just fit through Liberator's corridors. Several of the facets slid open, and things began emerging - wheels from the bottom, and cables like tentacles wriggled out of the sides. Suddenly remembering the time Liberator had tried to strangle him and Blake with live power cables, Avon scooted back on his haunches. Right into a wall. The computer came closer. He cringed. #Eerrbonk. Daddy,# it said, as it cornered him. A tentacle crept into his hand, tickling his palm. #Eerrbonk?#_

_Avon sighed. "All right." He got up, still holding the tentacle. "I'm going to my workroom," he announced to all. "A debugging session is in order. Come along, you."_

_The baby giggled._

_"What's his name?" Jenna asked Zen, as the proud (but hiding it) foster father left with the toddler clinging to his hand as it bumped its way up the steps._

_+Bonk. Orzo.+_

_"Isn't that a rice-shaped pasta?" Jenna asked._

_+Bonk. Oops. Too late now. It's in his motherboard.+_

_Blake grinned and elbowed Vila to one side, so he could be the first to tell Avon the bad news and comfort him afterward. 'It just doesn't get any better than this', he thought to himself, as he whistled merrily on his way._

__

Avon sighed and rolled over, breaking Cally's hold and the mind-merger. She stood back, gasping, shocked by the sudden return to the med-unit and reality. 

Then she was startled all over again when she heard Vila say, "Who'd a guessed? Was all that Avon?"

"Vila!" Hastily, she smoothed the disarranged sheet over Avon, trying to disguise the wet stain in the middle. "You should announce yourself. I was in the middle of a very delicate treatment."

"Yeh. I saw what you were in the middle of. And heard it, too." Vila grinned. "You talk in your trance, Cally, did'ja know that?"

Cally sighed. "All right, Vila. You heard, but you do not know the circumstances."

"So explain." Vila hitched one hip onto Avon's cot, and patted Avon on the thigh. "Hullo, Avon, feeling better?" he asked. Avon's eyes slitted open and he grumbled something under his breath before turning onto his side and apparently falling asleep again. "Funny sort of coma," Vila remarked.

"Orac says he is not in a true coma." She busied herself with the monitoring equipment to give herself time to decide what to say to Vila, then paused. "The readings are improved," she said, punching up the previous scan to make certain.

"That's good. So Avon will make it?" Vila said, grinning. Then he frowned. "Of course, it's nice and quiet with him like this."

"Vila." Cally shook her head in mock exasperation. She turned to Orac and put the key back in. "Orac, check Avon's condition and give a prognosis."

*There has been some improvement,* the computer said, grudgingly, *However, brain excitation levels are dropping once more.*

"What do you recommend?"

*Repeat whatever treatment provoked the improvement. As often as necessary.*

"Thank you, Orac," Cally said, snidely as she yanked the key and slapped it down on the table.

"I could have told you that," Vila said. He looked at Cally. "So do it, whatever it was."

Cally blushed. "Very well, but it would be better if you left."

"You sure you don't want me to stay and look out after you two? I'd hate for you to fall into Avon's mind and get stuck. Nasty, dark place in there, I'll wager."

"No," Cally said, at the same time Avon cried out, "Vila!" His eyes were still closed, but his right hand reached out in appeal.

Cally looked at Vila, Vila looked at Cally. "Oh, all right," Cally said. "But if you ever repeat to a single living soul what happens here, I will hunt you down, rip out your heart and roast it before your eyes."

Vila gulped. "Maybe I should go."

Avon whimpered.

Vila looked at him, sighed, and took Avon's hand. "I know I'm going to regret this," he muttered as Avon's distress faded.

"It will be worth it," Cally assured him as she assumed the position once more. This time it was even easier to find her way into Avon's dreaming mind.

_  
(Another bedroom. Cally thought Avon had more imagination than that. Then again, this time it was only Avon, Blake, and Vila and they were all fully clothed, playing some sort of board game. Perhaps this would not be too embarrassing.)_

_"What are we doing here?" Avon asked, puzzled, standing beside the bed with a foaming glass of Guinness stout in either hand._

_Blake sighed and moved his Parcheesi piece. "Being bored to death, I'm afraid."_

_"No sex?" Avon asked, plaintively._

_Blake and Vila exchanged glances, then slowly smiled._

_Vila heaved the Parcheesi set off the bed, scattering brightly colored bits of plastic everywhere. "Wheee!_

_For-ni-ca-tion, here I come, right back where I started from!" He leaped to his feet on the swaying waterbed mattress and began stripping. Out of nowhere came Gypsy Rose Lee's theme music as the Delta gyrated, swinging each freed article of clothing several times before shying it across the room._

_Avon and Blake stared, open-mouthed. Not at Vila's exhibitionism, for he'd done things on the flight deck that would make a mutoid blush, but at the astounding discovery that he had a sense of rhythm._

_Avon was especially impressed by the way Vila made the glittery tassels clinging to his nipples revolve; first both clockwise, then both counter-clockwise, and finally the left clockwise and the right counter-clockwise, blurring like primitive aircraft propellers. And that was nothing to what the tassel attached to the end of his cock was doing. Avon handed Blake one of the glasses of stout. "Push over, Blake," he said, sitting next to the burly rebel..."I am not burly," Blake responded to Cally's thought. "That makes me sound like a knot in an oak plank."_

_(You are rather plump, Cally thought. You have not kept up with your exercises, she scolded, before recalling that this was only Avon's idea of Blake.)_

_Blake looked down at himself and sighed yet again. "All right. Burly." A slightly troubled frown formed between his brows. He shook his head, blew off foam and took several gulps of stout. "Stout," he muttered, suspecting yet another snide nudge at his expanding waistline._

_...the burly rebel in order to watch the show. Vila's antics bounced the bed, forcing Avon and Blake into each other's arms. Avon's glass of stout collided with Blake's, shattering to shower them both with chunks of thick glass and golden-brown, malt-smelling stickiness._

_"Yeeee!" Avon squalled like a drenched alleycat, pushing the sodden Blake away. "My leathers!" he wailed, trying frantically to peel off the jacket which clung to his chest._

_"Oh, what's the big deal?" Vila asked, annoyed that his fun was interrupted._

_"Blake already shredded your clothes when he raped you yesterday on the flight deck."_

_"It wasn't rape," Blake said. "Avon asked for it."_

_Avon glared at Vila and Blake impartially. "I didn't. I just bent over to pick up a laser probe. You took advantage of me."_

_(Cally was alarmed now. Did that ever really happen? She considered Vila's tassels and decided that Avon's subconscious was just working overtime.)_

_"Are you still going on about that?" Blake grumbled. "I swear, Avon, you never know when to let something die."_

_"Something like you?" Avon purred, whipping up a Mark Ten, Rabble-Rouser, Frappé- Magnum from under the sheets to aim the double-barrels right between Blake's idealistic eyes, then down to the generous expanse of belly._

_"Avon," Blake growled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I am not amused."_

_"I am," Vila said, from across the room, where his survival instincts had taken him as soon as the stout hit the men. "I think Avon's the funniest thing I've ever seen. Ha, ha, ha-ha-hah!" He stuck his thumb to his nose and waggled his fingers at the shocked Alpha. "You can't kill anybody! You can't even kill time."_

_Avon's lips peeled back from his teeth, and his eyes rolled white as the gun tracked in Vila's direction, forcing Avon to turn his back on Blake._

_Blake lunged, grabbing Avon by the scruff and yanked, pulling the leather down around Avon's arms in an improvised strait-jacket. The gun fell over the side of the bed with a clatter of genuine, top-quality, Federation plastic. He lay panting over Avon's squirming, cursing body for a moment before reaching down to give Avon's nuts a friendly rub or two. Avon squealed and stopped fighting._

_Blake looked up at Vila. "Thanks."_

_"Don't thank me. I didn't want to do that." Vila shivered. "Something made me do it. I'm outta here before something makes me wrestle alligators." He turned toward the door, but halted when he heard Blake say,"How about wrestling Avons? Since you saved me, you can go first."_

_Vila looked back. Blake had peeled Avon's leather trousers down past his knees and was fondling Avon's genitals. Avon quivered, arched and moaned. "Weeellll," Vila said, drawing the moment out so that he wouldn't appear too eager. "All right." He hopped back on the bed. "Hey, Avon, how're they hangin?" he asked before checking for himself._

_"Vila, you swine," Avon gasped. "Stop that!" He looked down and amended, "At least take off that tassel first."_

_"Whatever happened to your spirit of adventure?" Vila asked, as he removed the offending item and helped Blake tip Avon over onto his belly._

_"I never- umm, oohhh," Avon moaned as Vila efficiently prepared him for the wrestling match with plenty of oil and massage , "- never had one. Adventure means getting shot up for free."_

_"And love means never having to say you're sorry," Blake commented, as he settled himself at the head of the bed and scratched idly at a naked nipple- his. Just because he was letting Vila go first didn't mean he couldn't get comfortable. His idea of 'comfortable' meant getting down to the buff and arranging himself so Avon's warm chest rested on his thighs and Avon's even warmer breath rustled Blake's short and very curlies._

_"Actually," Avon corrected, eying Blake's plump, plum-colored, plumb-bob which was bobbing practically under his proboscis. "Love means nothing." He was careful to hold his arms still for fear that his tattered jacket would give way. If he could fight Blake and Vila, he'd be forced to do so. For a moment he felt sorry for Blake. It must be tedious being the eponymous hero. Blake never got to smack pretty women around, or kill people just because they had BO._

_Blake gave him a hurt look. Then brightened. "Only in tennis," he said triumphantly._

_Lost in reverie, Avon had to think back a moment to understand what Blake meant. When it sank it that Blake had one-upped him he snapped, "No one in the civilized worlds has played tennis for centuries."_

_"Uncle Ushton, Cousin Inga and I used to play," Blake said, stoutly. "Stoutly? Leave it, Cally!" Blake ordered.(Cally winced. She must be getting too close to Avon's frequency.)_

_Ignoring the aside, Avon responded to Blake's last remark. "I rest my case." At Blake's puzzled frown, Avon clarified, sweetly, "Your relatives are semi-barbarians, inhabiting a frozen wasteland where the oxygen is too rarefied to support intelligent life."_

_"Nonsense. Cousin Inga and Uncle..." Blake stopped as the sweetness of Avon's smile grew. He reached out, wrapping one large hand around Avon's throat. "Would you like to rephrase that?"_

_"Yes." Avon paused, then looking straight into Blake's eyes, said, "Omit 'semi'."_

_Blake's brows contracted, forming a single dark, angry bar as he shook with rage- shaking Avon in the process._

_"Hey, cut that out!" Vila protested, rising from his haunches to look over Avon's crouched form at the big (in a strong, virile, manly way) rebel. "It's bad enough you've forgotten about me," Vila put a lot of effort into his self-pitying whine. "But if you break Avon's neck, I have to sit around all hot and horny while you shed guilt all over the place."_

_"He drove me to it!" Blake shouted back, fighting the urge to apologize and comfort Avon. After all, he knew where that would lead and he had promised Vila first crack._

_"You started it!" Avon snarled._

_"I didn't!"_

_"You did."_

_"Didn't! Didn't!"_

_"Did! Did! Did! DID!"_

_"SHADDUP!" Vila shrieked. He put his hands to his ears and waited until the ringing died down. He drew a deep breath. "Avon, apologize."_

_"Wha..." Avon stopped to consider the situation. He was bound. Blake had his hands around Avon's neck. Vila was about to fuck him. "I'm sorry, Blake," Avon said, with difficulty because his teeth were gritted at the time._

_"That's all right, Avon," Blake said magnanimously. He was unprepared for Vila's next order._

_"Now, you, Blake. Tell Avon you're sorry for using the 'L' word. That's what started the whole thing and you know it."_

_"Are you sure, Vila?" Blake asked, a sly grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He kept the amusement from his eyes, just barely._

_"YES." Vila folded his arms and looked adamant._

_Blake shrugged. "Fine. Avon, I'm sorry. I hurt your feelings, I know." His eyes gleamed. "You must have suffered tremendous emotional trauma."_

_"Suff... ah," Avon said, getting the idea and instantly agreeing. He squeezed a tear out of one eye. "It was Hell, Blake." He sniffed._

_"Poor baby," Blake replied. With one swift move, he ripped the remnants of leather jacket off his 'victim' and flipped Avon onto his back. "You need Comforting," he growled, casually pushing Vila off the bed as he stripped Avon's boots and trousers completely off._

_"Yes, and you'd better hurry," Avon said, looking past Blake, as he curled his legs up over Blake's big (as in sturdy, reliable, Atlas-like) shoulders._

_Blake paused a moment to enjoy the view. A moment too long, as it turned out._

_"Dibs!" Vila shouted from the floor. "King's Dibs!" he added, to make absolutely certain of his claim._

_Blake groaned piteously, but he pulled back, away from the bed._

_"Blake! You big cockup! Get your big cock up here!" Avon yelled frantically, seeing the delectable bits of Blake receding from his grasp._

_"Can't, Avon. King's Dibs." Blake sighed. "You know I'm the good guy."_

_Vila gave a kamikaze yell and sprang. "My turn. I get to screw Avon. Me, me, me, me, me!"_

_"I didn't know you could sing opera," Blake commented._

_"If he doesn't get to work soon, he'll be singing soprano," Avon snarled. As long as he got laid now, he didn't much care who was involved. Tassel-less, Vila seemed more than adequate for the job. He reached out, grabbed Vila's shoulders, pulled him down for a lengthy, lung-bursting kiss and wrapped his legs around Vila's waist._

_"I can take a hint," Vila gasped. He glanced down to check alignment, clamped his hands into Avon's hips and thrust hard, planting himself firmly._

_"Ah," Avon said, smiling. "That's more like it." He turned his head slightly to meet Blake's mournful eyes._

_Blake shook his head and smiled back. Seeing his faithful crew members -or should that be 'screw' members?- working so very closely together was gratifying. More than gratifying. Watching Vila sweat, swear and swivel while Avon gleamed, groaned, and gyrated made Blake perspire, pant and pump. 'Alliteration rules!' he thought, then decided his last mind-wipe session had gone a bit far. He claimed a presently unused section of bed, settling in comfortably. "Mind if I sit in?"_

_"Just watch, all right?" Vila said. "No taking charge of this mission." His hips thrust wildly and he held even tighter onto his Alpha, while keeping a wary eye on 'Fearless Leader'. Blake always had the best of intentions, but expedience often overruled his noble nature. Vila was not getting screwed out of this  
screwing._

_"If I'd known you were so brave, I'd have let you lead missions before now," Blake commented idly, sucking on a few fingers, before giving himself a good wank._

_"Brave?" Vila warbled, glancing around to see if Tarrant had come into the room and Blake was talking to him. "I don't know what you're talking about."_

_"Well, look at you. There you are, right in the middle of the Valley of Death. Screw Avon and die."_

_"That's only women, " Vila protested, but he looked worried, and his pace suffered for it, as he began to wonder if maybe Blake had a point. Well, of course he had a point, but he might be right, too._

_"Vila," Avon moaned, as it began to sink in that Vila wasn't sinking in as much as he ought. "Don't listen to him. You know you are always safe with me." His hands reached up to stroke and caress Vila's back._

_Vila lied, "It's not you I'm afraid of. Not really." He lowered his voice to a bare whisper. "It's just I have a feeling something's watching us- controlling us."_

_"Yes," Blake put in because he was feeling left out of the putting in. Avon had accepted the substitution too easily, making Blake wonder if his two thieves hadn't hit it off rather better than he knew aboard Liberator. Oh, the wasted time spent blowing up installations, when he and Avon could have been trading blow jobs. If they'd been happily humping all along, then it wasn't fair Vila getting first go. "I felt it. I think it's a hostile alien."_

_Vila whimpered, terror taking over, turning his crisp love- taco into overcooked linguine and his firm guavas into refried beans. He started to back up, with every intention of running for the border._

_"No!" Avon shouted, grabbing a tender bit and holding on for dear life. "Blake, you manipulative son-of-a -commissioner!"_

_Blake winced. He'd hoped no one knew about that. Granted, Mom was only a Commissioner in charge of food-packing plants, it still didn't look good on his rebel resumé. Especially that Soylent Green scandal._

_Avon saw the shot hit home. Since his aim was usually lousy, this rare success encouraged him. "This is a dream, Vila. Nobody gets killed." He glared at Blake. "No matter how richly they deserve it."_

_(So you know, Avon. Cally wondered whether this meant he was recovering, or if instead he had stopped fighting and was content to remain in his erotic fantasy forever.)_

_"Are you sure you aren't just saying that to make me feel good?" Vila asked. He was still nervous, but stopped trying to escape, convinced by the grip Avon had on his balls._

_"No, you imbecile, I'm saying that to make you make me feel good!" Avon tensed his internal muscles, deftly massaging the linguine into something approaching al denté._

_Reassured by Avon's name-calling, Vila regained his confidence and other attributes. "Hump, two, three, four! Hump, two, three, four!" Vila counted cadence as he pushed, pulled, rotated and in general filled Avon's wildest fantasies._

_"That's 'hup'," Blake corrected._

_Vila glared at Blake. "Not in Delta Relief Camp."_

_Avon stared up at Vila, adoration in his eyes. "You mean..."_

_"Yep," Vila said with pride. "I am a genuine Delta Faucet. Graduated Chrome-grade," he added._

_"Ooooooh," Avon replied, head back in ecstacy. "Plumb me, baby, plumb me!"_

_Even Blake was impressed. Everyone knew about the Delta Faucets. Reliable, durable, easy to turn on, with that smooth flowing action that only the most painstaking ergonomics can simulate. His jaw dropped as Vila went into overdrive, pushing Avon's arse higher with each stroke until only Avon's head and shoulders still lay on the pillow. It looked painful, being twisted up like that, but Avon didn't seem to mind in the least._

_"Eeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeee!" Avon yodeled as he came, spattering the wall behind the bed._

_Vila was still going, pumping madly away with Avon squealing and jerking at each thrust. He sat back, dragging Avon with him, braced himself against the nearest sturdy object- which happened to be Blake- grabbed Avon around the armpits and lifted and lowered the disheveled, totally wiped out, Alpha quite like a maddened fireman sliding up and down his thick, greasy pole. He ignored Avon's whimpers and increasing protests until he finally stiffened, yanked Avon down hard one last time and orgasmed so violently that Blake was afraid he'd break something. Probably Avon. After waiting a few seconds to make sure Vila was quite through, Blake crawled over to Avon, who was quivering all over. "Need a hand?"_

_Avon tried to swat Blake away. Blake grinned. "You look all reamed out, Avon."_

_"I'm fine," Avon said, his voice breaking halfway through the second word. "Save your concern for Vila."_

_Blake glanced under Avon's body as best he could. "He looks dead," he said blandly._

_"Oh, good," Avon said with feeling. Lots of ouchy feeling. He tried to lever himself off Vila, but found his arms and legs just trembled, and refused to cooperate. Under him, he felt Vila stirring. Rising. Panic struck. "Help, Blake!"_

_"You only had to ask," Blake said. He got a firm grip under Avon's arms, and lifted. With a certain amount of awkward scrambling, he got his computer technician detached from his lockpicker. He held the overheated, gasping body in his arms, and murmured gently into the rapidly pounding pulse at Avon's throat, "That's another one you owe me, Avon."_

_"Are you still keeping track? Besides, I thought you owed me."_

_"It works out the same either way."_

_"How?" Avon said, resigning himself to another stupid Blakism._

_"You never asked what it was you owed me." Blake began nuzzling, licking sweat off Avon's neck._

_"That's true." Avon thought back. Blake had never specified and neither had he. "Credits?" he hazarded a guess. "Tarrial cells?" At Blake's head-shake, more felt than seen, Avon sighed. "Another suicidal mission?"_

_"Close," Blake replied, moving his head lower in order to suck on an interesting bit of shoulder blade. "It's something we can do together." His hands roamed around to tug on Avon's nipples. "Closely together. Is it coming to you now?"_

_"No." Avon shook his head. "And neither are you. You had your chance and you blew it. 'King's Dibs', hah!" Avon's hand crept around to his tingling backside. "That'll teach you to be Mister Nice."_

_"But I already know how to be Mister Nice." Blake lowered his voice to his deepest, most seductive burr. "I also know how to be Mister Naughty."_

_"Can't prove it by me," Avon said, wistfulness creeping in despite his annoyance._

_"Yes, I can." Wild thoughts of flinging Avon face down and jumping his bones were racing through Blake's mind. It had been a long time. Watching Vila pound Avon through the mattress had stretched his noble nature to the limit. If he wasn't careful, this could degenerate into rape. Which wouldn't be all bad, unless the rumor that Avon owned a pair of pinking shears was true. Wouldn't put it past him to nip his best friend in the buds._

_"I don't know. I am tired." Avon's resistance was breaking down and he didn't sound quite so adamant._

_"And sore."_

_"I have a portable Liberator regenerator with me."_

_"Where did you get that?"_

_Blake shrugged. "Jenna put it in the life-pod with me. I kept it for a souvenir. It won't run on Galactic current." Forestalling Avon's inevitable downer, he added, "But there are both Galactic and System outlets in the lav. I checked." He rubbed his face. "I could even have used my Liber-razor."_

_"Well, why didn't you?"_

_Blake was hurt. "I was cultivating the frontiersman look."_

_"It isn't you. While I do realize that your boy scout outlook makes dirt seem homey, I was raised as a computer technician. Cleanliness is next to..."_

_"Godliness?" Blake finished._

_Exasperated, Avon said, "No. Impossible."_

_"Godliness is impossible?" Blake said, confused._

_Avon sighed again, "No, you bubble-headed booby." Using his favorite grandfather's favorite expression made Avon smile in reminiscence. His father said he inherited his larcenous tendencies and his nastiness from Grandad Zachary. Having cheered himself up, he was able to say, with some patience, "Cleanliness is next to impossible. Someone will always mess up whatever nice neat plans you make, no matter how meticulous you are." He snuggled up against Blake for a moment, then realized what he was doing and pulled away. "However. If you shave, and if your regenerator functions properly, then I may be able to grant you a few minutes of my time."_

_"Generous of you." Blake grinned, dimpling._

_"I thought so," Avon said. He looked down at the snoring lump of Delta lying spread-eagled in utter contentment beside him. "Oh, one last thing."_

_Blake had already gotten up and was halfway to the lav. He turned back. "Yes?"_

_"Put the cat out." He waved at Vila._

_"Why don't you do it?" Blake asked. He was horny as hell, and Avon as usual wanted him to do all the dirty work. Damn it, Blake was an Alpha too._

_Avon rolled over onto his stomach and clenched his buttocks a few times. "Reason enough?" he asked, slyly._

_Blake gulped, snatched Vila up from the bed, strode over to the door and flung the semi-conscious crook out into the corridor. He put two fingers in his mouth and blew an ear-piercing whistle. "Hey!" he yelled, as the air-raid siren effect began to wake Vila, "Free Delta to good home. Come and get him." Blake waited a few seconds until the pounding of feet announced the arrival of Vila's Vestal Virgins (a rabid sect of incredibly horny women comparable to the Flakey Blakeys, Ravin' Avons, and the Tarrant Nostra.) He yanked his head back in and sealed the door shut with a snap._

_Vila's screams of terror could be heard through the door and Blake had to lean heavily against it to prevent the thief from bursting it open by sheer force. The thumping and begging died down almost immediately and the herd of VVV's thundered off in the distance, presumably taking their prey with them._

_"Was that absolutely necessary?" Avon asked. He was now sitting up in bed and bore an unfamiliar expression that Blake deciphered after some study as worry for Vila's safety._

_"Yes," Blake snapped. "How long do you think that door-lock would last against Vila?" He aimed a thumb at the cheaply anodized Yale._

_"Still..." Avon was pale. "Turning him over to them... that's evil, Blake."_

_"Can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. Better his eggs than ours, eh, Avon?" Blake came close and began juggling Avon's eggs by way of illustration._

_"I suppose." Avon shuddered under the friendly assault, then ordered, "Shave, regen," pushing Blake away before hormones could affect his better judgment._

_Once more Blake was forced to retrace his steps. "You'd better be worth it, after all this," he grumbled._

_Avon yawned, idly watching Blake's wide (as in powerful), chunky (as in muscular) form disappear in the adjoining lav. The subdued buzz of a Liber-razor began and he relaxed. For a few minutes he would be alone. He leaned over the side of the bed to pick up his illustrated copy of the Kama Sutra. He slid the graphite writing stick out from the pen-loop on the cover, opened the book to a dog-eared page and made a check mark. He thumbed further on, muttering to himself, "Did that. Yes. Done that. Um hum. Trite. Painful. Need clarified butter and fermented crocodile glands for that one." He turned the book sideways, and squinted. "Probably work best in zero G." He made a few notes, then snapped the book shut and shoved it back under the bed. "Blake and the others have no idea how much research is required for the role of sex god." His lips quirked. "It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it."_

_Blake was having his own troubles.His whiskers curled and clung to the razor, clogging it every half inch or so. Like Blake, they didn't give up easily. He persevered, mowing down the opposition. As the final touch, he slapped on a handful of aftershave. "Wow!" Tears came to his eyes. He inspected the bottle. It wasn't Old Spice as he'd thought, but Old Bytes computer cleaning solvent. Avon must have left it in the cabinet after Orac's 200,000 computation check-up. He stuck his head in the shower and turned the water on full blast, holding his breath until his skin stopped itching. Then he shut the shower and turned back to the mirror. He looked like Bozo the Clown, with a large reddened patch surrounding his mouth. He fumbled the regenerator out of his kit and plugged it in. The little red light went on and he sighed in relief. The regenerator worked wonders, giving the effect of weeks of healing in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, his beard grew back during those 'weeks', longer, thicker and curlier than ever before. Only it grew in white. He clenched his hair in his hands and moaned._

_Avon had gotten bored, and come to investigate what was causing the delay. "What are you..." Avon caught sight of Blake in the mirror. In the mirror Blake saw Avon's eyes widen, and a beautiful smile brighten his face. Blake was ready to kill at the first snide remark. "Santa!" Avon cried, and came forward, flinging his arms around Blake's generous expanse. "I know I haven't been as good as I should, but I always brushed after meals and picked up my room."_

_Blake gave Avon a suspicious look. "Er, you haven't gone crackers on me, have you, Avon?" he asked, delicately._

_Avon pulled back. "Oh, it's you, Blake." He sighed. "Pity. I had asked Santa for a new Orac. One that couldn't talk back."_

_"Maybe Santa sent me instead."_

_Avon gave Blake a sideways glance. "I haven't been that bad." He relented at Blake's woebegone look._

_"Actually, I like this beard." He dug his fingers into the dense foliage. "Soft. Fuzzy. Rather like a Teddy Bear. Keep it." He turned back. "And bring the regenerator."_

_"I can't," Blake said, in sudden realization._

_"What!"_

_"It has to recharge overnight. Until then it has to stay plugged in to work." He held up the device, showing off the short power cord. It had been just long enough for him to do his face while standing in front of the mirror._

_"One fiasco after another," Avon grumbled. He surveyed the situation. "Oh, all right." He bent over the sink with his nose up against the mirror, fogging the glass with his exhalations. He spread his legs. "Get on with it."_

_Blake thought of a few amusing remarks he could make, but refrained. He brought up the regenerator._

_"Um, Avon?"_

_"What is it now!" Avon said plaintively._

_"I'm going to have to... er, insert it."_

_"Obviously." The long-suffering tone of one who is forced to suffer idiots. "Do you require a diagram?"_

_"No, I think I can manage." Blake grinned and spread Avon's cheeks. He put the probe end of the regenerator into Avon._

_Avon yelped. "Damn it, that's cold!"_

_"Sorry," Blake said unrepentantly. He bent down to breathe heavily on the remaining length of the probe, and incidentally on Avon's pretty pink arse, and his dangling participles which writhed under the stimulus like two fat, balding hamsters._

_Avon moaned._

_"Yes. I thought that would help." Blake worked the probe back and forth a few times to make certain it was well lubricated by Vila's lingering juices. Then he pushed the slender rod in slowly, until his knuckles were making pale indentations in the soft flesh of Avon's behind. "All right?"_

_"Yessss," Avon hissed, body held still, fists clenched white around the faucets._

_"Good. Won't be long now," he promised, speaking more to himself than to his patient. He switched on the regenerator. Avon stiffened. All over. Instantly. Completely. Blake peered underneath. "Hmm._

_Interesting. This explains why Cally volunteered to work in the med-unit. It seemed an odd choice for a fire-eater like her." It also explained why she'd never given him a tumble.(Cally resented that. It wasn't her fault she'd never gotten Blake to cooperate with her on anything except sabotage. Frankly, she thought all this Alpha restraint was unhealthy. Look what it had done to  
Avon.)_

_"Ooooooooooh."_

_Blake began to worry that Avon might waste his energies here, and fall asleep on him once they got back to that nice big bed in the other room. "Can you hold out, Avon?"_

_"OooooOOOOOO, aAAAAAHH."_

_Apparently, Avon couldn't hold out. Blake reached one hand forward and turned on the cold water faucet. Avon fought, but Blake was stronger. He filled the sink and began splashing icy-cold water on Avon's undercarriage. Avon yelped in shock._

_"Sorry, Avon. But it's for your own good."_

_In the mirror Blake saw Avon's lips pull back from his teeth. "I could do something for your own good, Blake," Avon said. "Eunuchs live longer."_

_"Now, Avon, buck up, and be a good boy." Blake rested one arm soothingly along Avon's shuddering spine._

_The regenerator beeped, signaling treatment completed. Blake removed it, patted Avon on the arse and said, "Ninety-eight point six. Perfectly normal."_

_Avon's temper snapped, he turned and attacked. At least he'd intended it as an attack, but the instant he got his hands around Blake's throat, Blake plunged the regenerator back into him and switched it on._

_Avon found himself humping Blake's leg hard, sucking on Blake's tongue, and running his hands over Blake's back, pulling the bigger man against himself, pressing the hot, moist length of roused rabble-rouser into his abdomen._

_"That's better," Blake said. "Bend over, sweetheart." The hell with the big bed. If he had to wait another minute, he'd explode._

_"No," Avon protested, then he recalled the illustration on page 376. That would be one more item he could check off his life-list. "Yes," he purred, turning to brace himself against the sink again._

_"Hold still," Blake said, panting, and working the thin rod around, searched for the perfect spot. Soon Avon was whistling through his nose, sounding like a tea kettle on the boil. He wasn't going to take any chance on Avon changing his mind again. Fortunately, the probe was very thin. He pushed his painfully swollen cock in beside the probe, gasping as the probe's emanations affected him, making him even harder and more desperate. "Still!" he demanded, as Avon shifted minutely, instinctively trying to evade the overwhelming sensations._

_"Blake. Please," Avon whispered._

_Blake shoved hard, pushing until the knobby end of the regenerator probe was digging into his groin. "All RIGHT!" he roared and began pumping, rapidly, encouraged by Avon's escalating squeals of delight. Lovely. Avon was just the right size, slick and warm and altogether perfect. He wrapped his arms around Avon's waist, grabbed Avon's penis and ran his hand over the wet end, gathering moisture to help him stroke the other man into blind ecstasy._

_"OH, God, Oh, Blake, ohhhhhh," Avon moaned continuously. He was trapped, squashed into complete immobility between cold porcelain and hot rebel. He arched his back and Blake managed to squeeze in even further. "UHh," Avon grunted at the impact. Blake was huge. He couldn't take anymore. With a scream of total mind-blowing satisfaction, Avon came, spurting very neatly into the sink, white on white against the ersatz marble. He would have collapsed, but Blake wasn't finished and held him up with a fierce, indomitable willpower, Avon rolling under the impact of Blake's thrusts and the influence of the regenerator. At last Blake stiffened, pumped five or six more times, then gave a deep grunt and stood absolutely still while his balls emptied their load. "Ahh." He pulled out. Avon folded like a road map that's been bent the wrong way too many times._

_"Blake," Avon said weakly from the tiled floor, "What took you so long?"_

_"Sorry," Blake lied. "I should have warned you." He gave Avon a triumphant grin._

_"Good guys finish last."_

__

This time Cally broke the connection to come back to the cool, calm reality of the med-unit. Vila was lying on the floor with a peculiarly silly grin stretched across his face. Avon's pulse and respiration were rapid, but they slowed to normal almost immediately. The instruments said that he had come closer to consciousness this time. "Vila, it's working!" she cried.

Vila groaned. "Tha's nice," he muttered, before rolling over onto his stomach. 

"How did you do that?"

"What?" Cally asked, as she cleaned Avon up. There didn't seem much point in worrying about his modesty before Vila. Not after the things Avon had imagined doing with Vila.

"Pull me in with you two." Vila got to his knees, revealing a large wet patch at his crotch.

"Oh, Vila, I am sorry. Somehow, Avon must enhance my abilities when I am linked with him."

"Don't apologize." Vila staggered to his feet. "That was the most fun I've had since leaving Earth. I could do with a shower, though." He winked at Cally. "Want to share one?"

Cally smiled back. "Another time, Vila. Right now, I think we need to conserve our energies for Avon. He is better, but still requires more treatment."

"Oh, what a shame," Vila said, grinning. "You can count on me to make the sacrifice for ol' Avon." Whistling, he strode from the med-unit.

Cally took a shower herself, after seeing that Avon was stable. She thought the physical stress of another orgasm might be too much for him, but the monitors disagreed. There must be something to the Alpha superiority claims, she mused on her way back from her cabin.

Dayna stopped Cally in the corridor. "How is Avon?"

"He is responding well to treatment." Cally replied. "Vila has been helping me with him."

"Can I help?" Dayna asked, her large eyes sincerely concerned. "Avon doesn't let me get close, but I care about him. I'd hate to lose him if there was anything I could do to prevent it."

Cally hesitated. Dayna was a young innocent, but she sensed a great deal of sensual potential in her. "The therapy is quite... personal."

"I don't mind. I'm not squeamish, or fastidious."

"It is..." Cally paused, then blurted out, "Avon needs to share his sexual fantasies with others."

"Oh." Dayna was silent a second, then a huge grin blossomed on her lovely face.  
"I'm available."

"It is all a telepathic experience," Cally explained. "There is no actual physical contact." Seeing Dayna's disappointment, she added, "but it seems very real at the time."

"I'd like to try. To help Avon, of course."

"Of course," Cally replied. "Let us call Vila, and we can begin."

"Her?" Vila squawked and backed up. "Do you think that's a good idea, Cally?" Vila asked. "After all, Avon's not himself. He's, well, vulnerable."

"Come on, Vila." Dayna took an aggressive step forward. "Do you mean Avon's frightened of me?"

"Could be," Vila said. He looked to Cally for confirmation. "Didn't you notice he was mostly fooling around with me and Blake?"

Cally nodded. "It is possible that Anna's..." Avon groaned and curled up, shivering. Cally looked at him. 

"Well, it is possible he does not trust women at the moment."

"He never trusts anyone," Dayna pointed out truthfully. "But he must know I'm on his side."

"Very well. We will try, but if he reacts badly, I will have to break the trance abruptly." Cally touched Avon's face and he uncurled, relaxing into her arms. "Vila?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm here." Vila gave Dayna a defiant look, then moved close to take Avon's right hand in his.

Avon and Cally sighed together, falling into merger almost immediately.(Cally observed her surroundings. This time she wasn't fooled by the lack of bed.)

_  
Avon and Vila were standing in the middle of a sun-lit room, kissing and stroking each other into ecstasy. They were both dressed, but had unzipped each other's trousers to allow easy access. Avon went a bit further, unbuckling Vila's belt and slipping both hands in to fondle Vila's arse, then pushed the trousers down._

_Avon sucked hard on Vila's throat, then said, "Turn around."_

_Vila asked, "Why?"_

_Avon grinned. "There's an antique Sheraton table behind you. Very rare. Very valuable," he purred._

_When Vila hesitated, he added, "Rumoured to have a secret compartment."_

_Vila couldn't resist. He turned. There was an antique Sheraton table. Real hand-carving, and real wood. Genuine Old Earth craftsmanship. He bent over to run his hands underneath in search of the secret._

_"Hey!" he yelped as Avon's cock pushed into him._

_"What's wrong?" Avon asked, leaning heavily on Vila's back as his hips began moving._

_"There's no... secret compartment," he complained, resting his arms on the table and spreading his legs to better support Avon's increasingly powerful thrusts._

_"I found a nice, snug niche," Avon replied._

_Vila shook his head. "Cheater."_

_"Are you going to cry 'sticky wicket' on me?"_

_"Mmmm." Vila closed his eyes and moaned._

_Behind them, Dayna stepped into the room, stopped, and then whistled in admiration. "Don't mind me, boys," she called out gaily._

_Avon made a noise halfway between a yelp and a snarl, twisting around to glare at her. Beneath him, Vila squawked as Avon's move slewed him around the table._

_"Hey, watch it!" Vila complained. "You could do us a real mischief, Avon!" He tightened his buttocks warningly around Avon's buried cock._

_Avon gasped, eyes wide in reaction, and instinctively pumped harder into Vila._

_"Ahhh," Vila purred, as throaty and smug as Servalan on Cadet Review Day. "That's more like it."_

_Dayna came around the table and perched on the far edge, where she could conveniently look into both Avon's and Vila's eyes. "I always knew you two were thick as thieves but..."_

_Avon snarled something unintelligible, but Vila interrupted, with a grin, "Very thick, thank you. Um." He closed his eyes in momentary ecstasy, as Avon pounded harder. "Go on," Vila said, "Get him mad. He's even better then."_

_"Is he?" Dayna said, with interest. "I'll have to remember that. I wonder if Servalan knows?" she mused, just to see the reaction._

_Vila clutched at the table and groaned, while Avon pinned the other thief's shoulders down and rocked harder._

_"You're right," Dayna remarked. Judging by the increased speed and depth of Avon's penetrations, he was on the edge._

_Vila sensed this too, and pried his hands loose from the table, transferring them to his own cock. He squeezed and yanked frantically, unable to keep up with the fury-driven man on his back._

_Avon's hands gripped whitely and his teeth glinted as he snapped at Vila's neck, getting a good grip on the collar of the shirt he hadn't given Vila time to remove. He made a high-pitched noise, closer to a whine than anything else, and stiffened, holding Vila still as he shook with orgasm._

_The warm flood of semen and Avon's jerking cock inside him was just enough added stimulation for Vila. He grunted, and came, then lay panting with Avon lying heavily atop him._

_"All done?" Dayna asked, disappointed. Her juices were flowing, but she was far from achieving any satisfaction. She hadn't had time to undo her jumpsuit, let alone get down to business._

_Vila mumbled and Avon was silent._

_"Avon?" Dayna asked. She came forward, warily. After all, Avon was very touchy about emotions and embarrassing situations. She touched his shoulder. Avon didn't even twitch, either unconscious, or dead. Or maybe he just didn't feel like talking._

_"Give us a hand here," Vila said, muffled, but unconcerned. "He's heavy."_

_"What do you want me to do?" Dayna eyed the entwined pair with misgivings. She'd thrown water over dogs who looked less intimate than this._

_"Just sort of pull him out. Gently!"_

_Dayna didn't mind. No, not in the least. She wrapped her arms around Avon's waist and pulled back, keeping her eyes modestly down. Which gave her a clear view of Avon's erection as it slid back out of Vila's arse. She licked her lips. "He's still..."_

_"Yes, I know," Vila said. He braced himself, pulling against the suction of the thick organ. When Dayna had pried Avon loose and eased him to the floor, Vila turned, hauling up his trousers and giving her a disapproving frown._

_"Why are you here?"_

_"I was looking for some fun. A girl has her needs, too, " Dayna said._

_"But you didn't want me, did you?" Vila asked, while bending down to check on Avon._

_"Welllll, no. Not really."_

_"Avon does. But then, he's smarter than you are," Vila snapped, as he picked Avon up and began carrying him into the other room, showing considerable more strength than anyone who knew him would guess._

_Dayna followed. "Vila! I'm sorry. It's just... well, it's just..."_

_"I know, I know. Everybody wants to jump Avon's bones. Well, he's mine, so you can just go find Tarrant and make do. The flyboy's not so bad, once you get him started," he said generously. He dumped Avon onto a large bed._

_Dayna stopped. "You had Tarrant?"_

_Vila cocked his head to one side. "Sure. Hasn't everyone? No head for Adrenaline and Soma. Two drinks and he's putty in your hands. Of course, he doesn't remember the next day, but that's his problem."_

_Dayna filed that information away for a rainy day. She looked down at Avon. Vila was methodically stripping the leather, silk, velvet, etc. armor off the man. She wondered if there would be anything left underneath it all. "Is Avon all right?"_

_"Him? He's fine," Vila answered, surprised. "It's my turn."_

_"Your turn?"_

_"To dominate." Vila rolled his eyes. "Look, it's simple. He plays macho and screws me. I play macho and screw him."_

_"Oh," Dayna said, hands flying to her mouth, eyes wide as saucers. "Oh, Vila, please, at least let me watch."_

_At that Avon's eyes flew open and he snarled, "NO!"_

_Vila looked down at him. "Did I give you permission to speak?" he said, in a soft, dangerous tone that was so sexy Dayna looked at him with new respect. Apparently, Vila took his role as dominant very seriously._

_Avon cringed and shook his head._

_"And if I want Dayna to stay and watch, it's my choice, isn't it?" Vila shouted, in a sudden, irrational rage._

_Avon nodded, frantically._

_"That's better." Vila smiled. "Assume the position," he ordered._

_Avon hung his head and got to his hands and knees, his arse toward Vila. His head may have been lowered, but Dayna could still see the glint of angry eyes under his hanging fringe of hair._

_"All right, Kerr, you can talk now," Vila said, appeased._

_"Vila, you know me," Avon sounded odd, voice pitched an octave higher than normal. Role-playing or nervousness? "I can't... not with her watching."_

_"You could try." Vila patted Avon on the rump. He looked at Dayna, "Kerr's got a little problem with women, ever since... well, you know."_

_Anna and Servalan. Having those two as sex objects could easily drive a man to exclusive homosexuality, if they didn't put him off sex entirely. Dayna nodded, then pointed out, "But he did just fine a few minutes ago."_

_"That's right, Kerr, you did." Vila agreed. "Maybe you just need to start out slow."_

_Avon shook his head, but it was a feeble protest. He was still achingly erect and Vila's agile hands hadn't left his arse since the pat._

_"All right, he agrees," Vila said. "You can watch, but don't touch."_

_On the principle of 'half a loaf', Dayna settled on the corner of the bed. Avon stayed where he was, while Vila continued to fondle him. After a few minutes, Avon stopped glaring at her, too involved in Vila's activities to care about any witnesses._

_Dayna kept staring, wondering about Avon's staying powers. Finally, she asked Vila outright, "Why is Avon still up? I mean, he came, didn't he?"_

_Vila stuck a couple well-greased fingers up Avon while he considered how to answer. "He's funny that way. He told me he was some Federation genetic experiment. Hmmp. I think he's just been saving up."_

_"Genetic experiment?" Dayna was intrigued. "They wanted a genius stud?"  
"No, actually, they were trying for a game-show host."_

_"What?" Dayna shook her head. She must have heard wrong. She knew the Federation went in for keep - the-masses - happy vids in a big way, but selectively breeding your own actors? What broadcasting corporation would act like god? Hmm. Well, maybe that wasn't a valid objection._

_Avon made a warning grumble, but Vila had him well in hand._

_"It backfired. They wanted sexy, good-looking, and smart-arse. And they got it in spades." Vila looked down fondly at his lover's pink backside. "They gave him a screen test when he was fifteen. He yelled, 'Come on down', and everybody did. They tore the studio apart."_

_"Vila," Avon's protest was soft, but heart-felt._

_Vila consoled him by massaging his testicles until Avon was quivering all over._

_"So they conditioned him to be antisocial," Dayna guessed. "That way he wouldn't be a charismatic rallying point for rebels."_

_Vila laughed so hard he had to lean on Avon's back while he got his breath back. "You've got to be kidding. That crowd nearly ate him alive. After that, he didn't dare get near people."_

_"Didn't want to," Avon mumbled. "Sentiment. Let it get a hold of you, and you are dead."_

_"How do you know all this, anyway?" Dayna asked._

_"I had wangled passes to the screen test." Vila smiled, reminiscing. "I got him out and hid him in the Delta Dome for a month until things cooled down. Taught him the 'Delta Vice' then."_

_"What's that? Drinking? Homosexuality? Stealing?" As Vila continued to shake his head, Dayna's curiosity rose. "Well, what is it?"_

_"Don't you dare!" Avon snapped._

_"I'm the boss!" Vila said and Avon subsided. "I think you need a lesson." He slapped Avon on the arse and then stood up to remove his own clothes. His penis had revived and was lifting its head, showing a lively interest in the proceedings._

_"Now, you just watch a master in action, Dayna," Vila said as he climbed onto the bed behind Avon._

_"A master of inaction, you mean," Avon grumbled, having waited quite long enough for Vila to finish chatting._

_"You'll pay for that, Kerr."_

_Avon merely smiled and braced himself._

_Vila mounted slowly, spreading Avon's cheeks and pressing his cock against the waiting hole. "No quickie this time." He inched in, enjoying the clasp of warm flesh and the way Avon trembled with each push. "Ah," he said, as his cockhead was swallowed. He moved as if to pull out and Avon moaned in denial. "You want it, don't you, Kerr? Want a big, fat Delta dick stuffed up your arse?"_

_"Yes," Avon muttered. "Stuff it," he said, with a wicked gleam in his eyes._

_Vila paused. "Was that a crack?"_

_"Of course it is." Avon wriggled his hips. "And you're in it."_

_Vila thrust, shoving himself halfway in. "I still think that was a crack," he remarked._

_Dayna pulled down the zip on her jumpsuit entirely by feel. Her eyes were locked onto the two men. It was like having your own private live-porn show. Only without having to buy watered-down drinks. She slithered out of the jumpsuit with a sigh of relief. It had been getting very tight and sticky in there, while watching Vila play with Avon. She put her hands to work on herself. It would have been nice to be in the action with the boys, but this was something she'd never even dreamed about._

_"Better not have been a crack," Vila said, one last time, as he pushed hard, completing the penetration and grinding his balls against Avon. He rotated his hips, searching until Avon tensed and began thrusting helplessly into the air.  
Avon sat up on his haunches and reached for himself. Vila allowed it, merely spreading his knees for better balance and transferring his grip from Avon's waist to his shoulders as he pumped._

_Dayna shifted to get a better view. Avon was sweating, rivulets running down his furry chest to be spattered off as Vila's pounding increased. He was so pale and flushed he almost glowed. She ran her tongue around her mouth, desiring him._

_Avon's eyes opened wide as Vila's enthusiasm, and other things, grew. He met Dayna's admiration and blinked. After a second, he quirked a grin. He moved his hands, showing off his erection, letting the rosy-red tip protrude to tease her._

_Dayna made a soft, hungry noise._

_Vila heard and looked down over Avon's shoulder to see what Dayna was looking at. "Show-off," Vila said, ramming himself in so hard that Avon was lifted off his knees, head lolling back in astonished response. Vila grabbed Avon's chin and held him steady for a long, sucking kiss, while he continued to pump heavily into the other man. When Vila broke the kiss at last, all three of them were panting. Abruptly, Vila pulled out._

_"No!" Avon and Dayna complained together._

_Vila evaded Avon's grasping hands easily. "You know what I want, Kerr," he said._

_Avon gave Dayna a doubtful glance. "I'm not sure..."_

_"I am," Vila replied, shoving Avon backwards._

_After an instinctive flailing for balance, Avon flopped backwards. He looked up at Vila, making a weak attempt at a glare. Vila wasn't deterred by it, falling forward to land with a 'whomp' atop Avon. He rubbed them together, cocks slippery against their sweaty bodies as he nibbled and bit at Avon's neck._

_"I can't see anything!" Dayna protested. Watching Vila's arse wriggle wasn't entirely boring, but she felt it didn't make up for all the bits of Avon she wasn't seeing. Vila was too caught up to answer her, or even hear her, probably. She waited a minute, then picked up her gun from the pile of discarded clothing  
beside the bed. She put the barrel behind Vila's ear and said, "I can't see anything, Vila."_

_Vila's eyes focused rapidly. "All right, all right!" He pulled back, to kneel between Avon's wide-spread legs. He lifted Avon's knees. "Pull up, Kerr," he ordered._

_Avon grunted and obeyed, opening himself to Vila's ravages. "Hurry," he growled, cock jerking against his stomach._

_"I'm coming as fast as I can," Vila said, not even noticing the pun. He pulled Avon's cheeks apart once more and inserted himself back where he belonged. Avon gave a long shuddering sigh and pulled back harder on his knees._

_Dayna dropped the gun and came close, staring down into Avon's eyes. He didn't seem to mind, and she became bolder, reaching out to stroke his face, then his chest, then... he caught her hand and held it, while he searched her face.  
Considering that Vila was up Avon's arse and bouncing back and forth with jackhammer intensity, Avon's self-possession was remarkable. "Uh," he moaned as Vila reached new depths. Avon released Dayna's hand. "Go ahead," he whispered, letting his head fall back as he surrendered to both of them._

_Eagerly, Dayna reached between Vila's down- thrusting body and Avon's arching, receptive one to find Avon's hard length. Vila had rubbed lube over it previously, and she found it delightfully slick and warm, throbbing under her touch. She caressed it, harder and harder as Avon's soft, breathy whispers told her she was pleasing him. She looked up at Vila and beamed. "He likes me!" she said, in some surprise. She'd never really been sure about that._

_Vila grinned, but since he'd been grinning ever since entering Avon that didn't tell her if he was agreeing with her or not. So she squeezed harder._

_Avon shrieked, spurted semen into the air and pushed himself into her hands so hard that he lifted Vila straight up. Vila came back down again with a vengeance, clutching and heaving like a maniac. "Eeeeeeeee!" he screamed as he released in three hard jerking thrusts, then collapsed limply, folding Avon beneath him._

_"Well, I guess you're not shy anymore," Dayna said, giving Avon a last tender squeeze._

_Since Avon looked like he was having trouble breathing, she considerately rolled Vila off to the side. Vila landed in a boneless lump, and immediately began snoring. She sighed. Avon's lovely eyes were shut, and his pretty pink cock was also done in for the evening. With both men out for the count, what about her?_

_She straightened her shoulders and shook her head. No sense feeling sorry for yourself. There were lots of opportunities for a young, healthy girl. She could go find Tarrant for one. Maybe Cally would let her borrow a litre of Adrenaline and Soma. If she told her what she wanted it for, Cally might even join her. Just then, Avon turned slightly in his sleep, flung an arm over Vila and snuggled against the other man's chest. Vila responded by sliding a hand down Avon's flank._

_"Oh, all right. I know when I'm not wanted." Dayna pulled her jumpsuit back on and retrieved her gun. She paused, looking back at the men, hoping they would wake up. Impulsively, she went over to Vila and kissed him on the forehead. "Good luck with him, Vila. You'll need it,"she said softly. She hesitated, then bent over Avon and kissed him on the lips, reluctantly pulling away after a long moment. "And you be good to him, Avon. He does love you, you know." Dayna turned down the light on her way out. The door shut behind her with a soft 'click'._

_In the dimness of the bedroom, the silence was broken by a chuckle. "Fooled her, didn't we?" Vila said, sitting up to grin down at Avon._

_Avon smiled. "It seems a shame, actually." He put his hands behind his head and took a deep breath. "After all, she was very... understanding. I do believe she has cured my problem."_

_"Don't go thinking about her, Avon." Vila stretched and scratched. "She'd kill us both." He chuckled again. "She nearly did tonight, just with us showing off for her."_

_Avon looked affronted. "Speak for yourself. I had no difficulties."_

_"Right. And you aren't the slightest bit tired." Vila timed it just right, catching Avon in the middle of a jaw-cracking yawn. "Face it. We're neither of us young enough to keep up with her."_

_"Not on a regular basis," Avon admitted. He pulled up a pillow and plumped it, settling with it behind his shoulders while he dug among the crumpled sheets for the vid remote-control._

_"It's my turn," Vila said, reaching for the box._

_"Again?" Avon lifted an eyebrow in disbelief, then surrendered the control. "All right. But no mud-wrestling."_

_"Nah. There's a monster-movie marathon tonight."_

_Avon put the pillow over his head._

_Vila turned on the video and settled comfortably next to Avon. "Oh, look," he said, as the vid brightened and the sound came on. "My favorite scene. The twins are singing to Mothra."_

_Avon lifted the pillow long enough to say, "Dayna wished you luck. Don't press it."_

_"She also told you to be good to me," Vila replied. "Put Orac in microwave mode. I want some popcorn."_

_Avon threw the pillow at Vila.  
_

Cally pulled away from Avon and shook her head. "We are making progress," she informed the others. 

"Avon is becoming more psychologically open to ..." She looked down. Vila was unconscious, crumpled on the deck, but still smiling. "Dayna, could you lend me a hand?"

"Of course," Dayna said, coming over briskly and hauling Vila up. "Shall I just put him on the other bed?"

"Yes. Poor Vila," Cally said, checking his life-signs, before putting a restraining strap over him to ensure he didn't fall out of bed. "We should wait until he has recovered before we try another session."

Dayna frowned. "Wouldn't it be better for Avon if we kept going?"

"You aren't thinking of Avon," Cally accused.

"Maybe not entirely," Dayna admitted.

"Still, you might be right. It seems a shame to waste the momentum."

Dayna went over to Avon, bent over his head and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "That's to give you ideas."

Cally checked Avon. He was more relaxed than she'd ever seen him, even the monitors agreed. His blood pressure was down a dozen points, and his brain was flooded with natural mood-enhancers. She ran the tissue regenerator over his genitals, which were becoming fatigued from over-use. Aside from that, the man was in great shape. His eyes flickered as Cally finished and gave him an intimate pat. 

Dayna was standing at the head of the cot, so she was the recipient of Avon's brief, blinding smile before he relapsed.

Cally felt an unworthy surge of jealousy. She had been trying so hard to avoid influencing Avon's dreams that he was beginning to leave her out of them entirely. Smothering that selfish thought, she came up beside Dayna. "Take his hand," she directed. "It seemed to help Vila catch his attention."

(Slipping into Avon's mind was so smooth, Cally let the pleasure of the communion wash over her. It was so soothing that she was able to calmly observe Avon wrapped in Dayna's ebony arms.)

_  
"I'm a hunter," Dayna said. "I always get my prey." Lying nude on her back, with an equally unencumbered Avon kneeling between her legs, she sounded quite smug._

_Avon looked down on Dayna and grinned. He was tousled, and quite endearing - for a cold-hearted terrorist egomaniac. "Now that you have me, what will you do with me?" he asked._

_"Oh, I'll think of something," Dayna replied, running her claw-like nails lightly down his back._

_He shivered and his expression blanked, then turned serious. "You are a virgin, aren't you?"_

_"But not an innocent," Dayna said. "Vila offered to teach me, and so did Tarrant, but I wanted you first."_

_"First?" Avon was insulted and showed it._

_"Well, how's a girl supposed to know what she likes best without comparing?"_

_Avon showed his teeth and made as if to leave. "Perhaps you have been too ambitious. If you started with Vila..."_

_Dayna yanked Avon's head down to hers. "Now, Avon," she said, wrapping one hand around his testicles and squeezing firmly._

_Instinctively, Avon thrust. He was startled to meet no resistance. "I thought..."he gasped, pumping heavily into Dayna's slick depths, "you were a virgin?"_

_"Ooooh," Dayna moaned. She smiled up at Avon. "I am. I was. But not a stupid one. We do have a perfectly good medical unit."_

_"Clever girl," Avon said, leaning closer to kiss her._

_Dayna moaned and kissed back, reaching her long, lithe legs up to lock around the small of Avon's back. Her hands massaged and urged him on._

_He responded with a series of hard, deep thrusts, accompanied by much sweating and grunting. She wouldn't settle for anything less than his best efforts, and kept rocking her hips and contracting around his pistoning cock until he threw his head back, yelled something unintelligible and came fiercely._

_Frantically, Dayna raised her hips and rotated around the throbbing hunk of Alpha delight, reaching for her own pleasure. She achieved it with a shriek and a final clamping down on her captive just before he collapsed._

_After several panting minutes, Avon rolled off her. They lay side by side, shoulders just touching._

_"That did turn out well, didn't it?" Dayna said. "Shall we try again, just to make sure that wasn't a fluke?"_

_Avon raised an eyebrow. "You are new to this. You might regret overindulgence later."_

_Dayna shifted, and winced as a previously unnoticed soreness between her legs made his meaning apparent. "I've felt worse after an exercise session with Cally and Tarrant."_

_Avon's eyebrow went back up. "Not the sort we just did, I hope."_

_"Of course not. Anyway, I'm fine. It's not as if you could've left me any permanent reminders."_

_Avon's expression went blank._

_Dayna frowned. "I mean, I remember Cally making up pills for you and Tarrant and Vila. To make sure we didn't leave any of those friendly rebel groups with extra mouths to feed. You have been taking them, haven't you?"_

_Avon cleared his throat. "Er. Well, you know, our medical supplies are running low. And Tarrant needed them more than I did." His voice trailed off, as Dayna's eyes burned holes in him. "The odds are very low," he said. "After all, this was only once..."_

_"You had better hope you didn't beat the odds this time, mister." Dayna got up and headed for the bathroom. "There had better be an insta-preg test in here, or I'm going to..." Her voice trailed off as she reached the room. "There it is."There were a few rustlings,water running noises... and then a pregnant pause._

_Avon held his breath and got to his feet. He didn't know why he was so nervous. The odds were... come to think of it, he and Lady Luck had not been on the best of terms lately. He crossed his fingers and hoped. There was an eardrum- blasting shriek. He took off at a gallop, as if all the Furies were after him. He was certain one of them was. A woman scorned was nothing compared to a woman impregnated. He found a door and fled through it into an unmarked hallway. Or possibly a spaceship corridor. It wasn't any place he recognized, at any rate. And it was cold. He regretted not having snatched a robe. He was used to wearing leather and velvet outfits in a temperature-regulated spaceship. He was getting goosebumps all over. And all under, too._

_A wolf-whistle split the air and he stopped, turning to glare at whoever... er. Blake was standing there, wearing a white terry cloth robe and a halo- slightly tarnished, and listing at an angle. Blake reached up and absently tugged the halo off, throwing it like a frisbee over Avon's head. There was a squawk followed by a thump. Avon glanced back. Dayna was lying flat on her back with a halo-sized lump coming up on her forehead. He started to move toward her, feeling more than a little guilty. Then he saw the shotgun lying next to her hand and decided he didn't feel all that guilty._

_"She could have taken precautions, too," he muttered. "After all, she said she wasn't stupid. And she seduced me." He edged away from her body, which was already starting to twitch._

_"Come on, Avon," Blake said, grabbing at his arm. "I know a place where you'll be safe."_

_Avon looked down at the presumptuous hand and then up at Blake's face._

_Blake released his grip, said, "Sorry," and started gnawing on a knuckle._

_The sight brought back old memories of the beginning when things were simple and they always won. Avon's spine relaxed and his weight shifted into an easier pose without his conscious intervention. "Er, Blake, you aren't by any chance still holding a grudge about the time I threatened to pump a few projectiles into you if you didn't leave Liberator, are you?"_

_"Oh, no, not at all," Blake said, smiling. "It was partly my fault. I'd have to be insane to blame you for that. Now, do I look insane?"_

_"How can I tell?" Avon said, grumpily. "You left bits of your mind in half a dozen Federation mind-wipe shops. Not to mention the time Orac deprogrammed you and you thought you were a Bonsai tree for a week."_

_"Not a Bonsai tree," Blake corrected. "I was a spreading Chestnut tree. The one under which the village Smithy stands."_

_"A nut at any rate." At that moment, Dayna groaned loudly and Avon flinched. "On second thought, perhaps it would be only polite to talk over old times. Away from here."_

_"Away from her, you mean," Blake said, genially. He turned and led the way to a lift. The lift bleeped, wanting to know where they were going, and Blake slapped a button, seemingly at random. The lift started down._

_Once in the lift and presumably safe from Dayna, Avon relaxed again. Blake seemed his old self. Then his eyes narrowed as he recalled what Blake's old self was like; a bland exterior covering a seething mass of idiotic, wild and suicidal schemes. "You aren't plotting any overthrows of any totalitarian regimes, are you?" he asked, inching toward the control panel. He'd hit Emergency Stop and take his chances with whoever showed up to rescue them rather than get into another one of Blake's schemes again._

_"No, no, nothing like that. The Federation's been gone for ages. Don't you keep up with the news? Once Servalan became President she bankrupted the economy paying for her wardrobe. By the time the system collapsed, half the fur - or feather - bearing species in the galaxy were on the endangered list, and most of the known deposits of gemstones were worked out. Not to mention what she did to the slave-trade."_

_"Don't mention it!" Avon had a sneaking suspicion Servalan had been eying him for a steel collar. Servitude under an ego bigger than his? It would have killed him._

_"Touched a nerve, I see." Blake grinned at Avon's discomfiture, "By the way, why was that young lady so angry at you? You didn't pump a few projectiles into her, by any chance, did you?"_

_Avon blushed as Blake's words came inadvertently close to the mark. "A minor social gaffe," he said, dismissing the entire event, "Dayna will get over it." Yeah, right, face it Kerr, old son, your bachelor days are over. He sighed, gloom descending upon him. It wasn't fair. Years of successfully eluding Federation pursuit ships and maniacs of every stripe, only to be laid low by biology. No more death-defying raids, no more deliciously evil women panting over him, no more larceny. He had a vivid image of himself with unattractive black circles around his harried eyes, exhausted from 3 AM feedings, wearing a pablum-spotted, drab-brown jumpsuit and holding a wriggling blob of rug-rat whilst it retched sour milk onto his shoulder. No more studs, no more stud. He was doomed. Without realizing it, he leaned against Blake and suddenly found himself sobbing._

_Blake rose to the occasion in true hero fashion. He patted Avon on the shoulder and said, "There, there. It's not so bad as all that. Tell Uncle Roj what's the matter."_

_"She...she... she's going to have my baby!" Avon sobbed. "I'm too young too marry."_

_"She seemed a very nice young woman, from what I saw," Blake commented. "Quite beautiful, in fact."_

_"But... but... I won't be free any more."_

_"Ah," Blake rubbed his chin. Avon couldn't see it of course, buried as he was in well-padded, rebel pectorals, but he could hear the familiar rasp that often accompanied Blake thinking. "So what really bothers you is that you'll be giving up playing the field. Buck up, man. It happens to the best of us."_

_"I am the best. Everybody wants me. Even Orac has the hots for me. And now I'm going to be stuck with one woman."_

_"If you feel that strongly about it, don't bond with her. I'm sure you can afford child-support after your little spree at Freedom City."_

_"What are you talking about?" Avon spluttered, pulling back to look into Blake's amused eyes._

_"Honestly, Avon." Blake rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You go down in your silver 'look at me, I'm hot stuff' tunic and bankrupt the casino. You think no one found out who you were? Why do you think the reward for you suddenly doubled? They don't like card-counters."_

_"We didn't play cards!" Avon protested, falling into Blake's trap._

_Blake grinned. "I knew it. A cheat, and a liar, and you marooned your best friend. Marriage is a fate too good for you."_

_"I agree. But Dayna won't." Avon stared at nothing. "She's very determined. If I don't marry her, she'll shoot me. And she's a much better shot than I am."_

_Blake shrugged. "So marry her and make her life hell, like you did mine, until she asks for a divorce. If she can take more than two years of it, she's got a stronger stomach than I did."_

_Avon shook his head. "She likes it when I'm a bitch. She loves to fight."_

_"Sounds like a perfect match, then."_

_Avon gave Blake a supremely filthy glare, which reflected right off Blake's shining white robe as Blake had turned. The lift stopped and the doors opened._

_"After you," Blake said graciously._

_Avon huffed, quite irked at Blake's casual dismissal of his woes and stepped out of the elevator into a dark, musty smelling area. "What is this? Blake!" Avon squawked as a heavy hand hit the middle of his back and propelled him into the dark. He regained his balance and looked back. Blake was standing, backlit by the open lift door, transformed into a large, menacing silhouette._

_"Remember when I told you I wasn't insane? I'm not, but I am mad about you."_

_Avon stiffened. Something in that rich, self-satisfied, Welsh burr made his skin crawl. Blake had A Plan. Oh, SHIT._

_Blake came closer and the lift closed behind him. "I've sent it away," he explained, invisible in the blackness. "This is the Sub- Sub- Sub - Basement. No one comes here. No one even knows it exists."_

_"Why, Blake?" Avon backed up, slowly, looking wildly from side to side. It was blacker than the inside of a mutoid who'd been sucked into a Black Hole while wearing her best parade black uniform. Blake was a terrifying, smug voice somewhere in front of him and everything behind him was unknown, and therefore, probably out to get him._

_"I set all this up, Avon." Blake was really enjoying himself, judging by the sound of his voice. It was almost a purr. Stealing Avon's trademark, now that was really low. If Avon had a gun, he'd shoot the bastard. Unfortunately, he didn't have a gun. Or his favorite studded jacket, or his James West boots with lockpick compartment, or even a pair of underpants._

_Avon sneezed and in that moment of total defenselessness, when all he could think about was whether it really was possible to blow your brains out that way, he was seized from behind. "You sneak!" Avon shouted, affronted that Blake would attack from the back. He wriggled and kicked, but bare feet against determined resister were an uneven match._

_"I was waiting for you. Only for you," Blake purred. Definitely a purr. Avon was sweating bullets now. He wished they were really bullets._

_"What are you going to do?" Avon asked, as Blake hefted him effortlessly, slinging him over one shoulder. Scrabbling around for balance, his hands touched Blake's head and he felt straps attached to some sort of goggles. Night vision devices, no doubt. Blake had Planned In Advance. Double SHIT, he thought, recalling some of Blake's infamous Plans-In-Advance._

_"What I should have done back on the London. Screw you until you realize who's boss." Blake fondled Avon's arse. "After the Federation conditioning broke I was so damn horny that even Gan looked good to me. Then you showed up with that pitiful, winsome, little-boy-lost look in your eyes, and I completely lost it. " He chuckled. "All I had on my mind was getting my arms around you and dragging you off to someplace private." He whacked Avon's arse harder. "But you  
were such a bitch I never dared ask!"_

_Avon jumped at the slap, then chuckled. "It's a pity you hadn't. I was so damn horny on the London that even Vila was starting to look human to me."_

_"You, too?"_

_From his current position, Avon had no difficulty in goosing Blake. "That answer your question?"_

_"Admirably," Blake said, panting. "Still, I don't quite trust you. Not enough to give you your freedom. Not yet."_

_"Oh, Bondage? That sounds like fun," Avon purred, reclaiming his patent rights._

_"It'll be fun for me, at any rate," Blake growled._

_Growling was all right. Avon was willing to concede that to Blake. Blake was so much bigger- yum- than Avon that he had a better growl anyway. So long as he didn't snarl or purr, Avon would allow him the rest of the animal noises._

_Blake kept walking, but soon paused to fling open a door with a loud, theatrical creak. He strode in and clicked a switch._

_Avon blinked in the sudden light. Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he blinked again. "Well, now. You have been busy, haven't you?" he purred._

_Blake dumped him unceremoniously, but painlessly, onto a well-padded heap of mats. "What do you mean by purring, you perverse little snot! Don't you see what all this is?" He waved an arm at the assorted leather and stainless steel contraptions scattered around the room._

_"Of course I do, dear," Avon rumbled, beyond purring, as he curled up with his hands under his chin, in a classic Playboy bunny pose. It showed off his rump to good advantage, he knew. "S and M game-playing equipment. I'm flattered. I know how expensive 'all this' is." He smiled and batted his long eyelashes._

_"You are supposed to be frightened and disgusted! You have just discovered that Roj Blake, saintly hero of the masses, has always desired to dominate and subdue you by force! The dirty secret is out. Why the hell aren't you upset?"_

_"What secret?" Avon said, puzzled, as he sat up and tried out a new pose, looking coyly over his shoulder, lifting a hand to tousle his bangs as he wet his lips and pouted. "You always were trying to dominate and subdue me by force. Frequently on the flight deck with Jenna watching, jealous of the attention you gave me." He sighed. "But never in my cabin, with the lights out. I was beginning to think there wasn't any fire under all that smoke."_

_"I got 'all this' because I assumed I'd have to beat you into submission, tie you up and rape you. And probably gag you so you couldn't bite me." Blake sounded disappointed._

_"I'm not overly keen on gags," Avon said."It limits my participation. Very talented participation, if I do say so myself." He ran his tongue around his lips in illustration. "But if it will make you feel better, we can go the whole route. Tell me, do you prefer silent suffering, or would you like some muffled screams among the moaning?"_

_Blake turned and plumped himself down on a stack of cushions. "It's no good now. I can't do it if you want me to," he said grumpily._

_"I'm sorry," Avon said, softly, creeping up behind Blake to put a comforting hand on the broad shoulders so temptingly covered by only a fuzzy white robe._

_"Really. Would it help if I put up a struggle and tried to escape?"_

_"Not now. I just wouldn't have my heart in it." Blake heaved a loud sigh._

_"Are you sure?" Avon whispered, brushing the robe apart and breathing warmly on the exposed curve of clavicle. Blake shuddered._

_"You can't change my mind. I'm stubborn. Ask the Federation."_

_"Oh, what a pity." Avon licked along the side of Blake's neck. "Then I suppose we'll just have to remain platonic enemies." His hands slipped the robe further down Blake's arms, then reached under and around to massage Blake's nipples. It was a stretch, getting around that massive torso. In fact, he had to plaster himself against Blake's back to manage it._

_"Yes." Blake's answer was breathy and ragged. His head went back, as Avon pulled his nipples taut then tweaked gently. "Enemies. Forever."_

_"Dearest Enemy," Avon said, stealing from Shakespeare. He always believed if you were going to steal it might as well be from the best. The damn robe was in his way. He yanked at it until Blake shifted his shoulders, letting the fabric slide down one brawny arm and off._

_"Isn't it hot in here?" Blake asked, as he pulled the robe the rest of the way off. "Or is it me?"_

_"It's hot in here. And it's you." Avon nuzzled Blake's spine, eliciting a whole-body shiver. "You're burning up. Let me cool you." He began licking wide, wet swathes around Blake's ribcage, following the well-padded bones around until he was sitting on Blake's lap, laving Blake's breastbone and working his way up._

_"Ahh," Blake groaned. "I don't think... it's working." He panted, sweat beads popping up all over his body._

_"Give it time," Avon said, between licks. He sat up, incidentally rubbing his arse along Blake's rapidly hardening penis, and kissed Blake. He grabbed a double handful of curly hair and hung on, sucking and licking until Blake moaned into his mouth and grabbed him back, returning the kiss with equal fervor._

_Blake pulled away and looked at Avon in wonder. "How can anyone who kisses as sweet as that like S and M?"_

_Avon's eyes lowered demurely, but not before Blake caught a sharp, sly flash of smugness. Vintage Avon._

_"You don't! Why, you lying, little embezzler!" Blake tossed Avon backwards onto a different pile of mats- there were a lot of them. "I've half a mind to bring on the whips and chains."_

_"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me," Avon said, grinning._

_"No." Blake shook his head. "They don't. You don't like losing control. You don't like being forced into anything." Blake pinned Avon to the mat. "You don't like this, do you?"_

_"Yes, I do," Avon snarled, showing his teeth. "I...love...it."_

_Blake stared down at Avon. "I could rape you now, and you'd pretend to enjoy it. Just because your reverse psychology ploy failed. Is being right that  
important to you?"_

_"Yes," Avon said, shortly. "Look, if you're going to rape me, get on with it."_

_Blake's face clouded. "No. I will not be made the villain, not even for the pleasure of seeing how pretty you look when you suffer. I am going to make love to you. You are going to be thoroughly screwed and love every minute of it."_

_Avon's face pinched. "You can't make me. I will be miserable, and suffer emotionally."_

_"No, you won't." Blake was still holding the other man immobile, but he shifted, bringing his knees to either side of Avon's hips, lifting himself up enough to free Avon's breathing. He reached beyond Avon, pulling back a large pillow, and placed it beneath Avon's head. "Comfy, sweetheart?"_

_"No," Avon said, with satisfaction. "My back hurts."_

_"Let Roj take care of that for you, darling." Blake flipped Avon onto his stomach and proceeded to give him a full-body massage, using plenty of warmed oil and fur-covered mittens to stroke Avon into boneless ecstasy. "Better, lover-lips?" Blake crooned._

_"Um." Avon wanted to deny it, but that had felt so good he found himself smiling into the goosedown pillow. "For the moment," he said, reluctantly._

_Blake took the warmed oil and began dribbling it on Avon's lower back, letting it pool between dimples._

_"I thought you were through with the massage?"_

_"You must be kidding, dearest little rosepetal."_

_Avon made retching noises into the pillow, and Blake chuckled. "I am going to screw you."_

_"Single-minded lout, aren't you. Why don't you let me take you?" Avon purred, once more. "Think what a generous act that would be. And courageous, considering that I am still rather irked with you."_

_"I'm not that generous. Not after the tricks you've played on me. Now, just lie there and enjoy this." Blake stripped off the mittens and his oily fingers began probing Avon's backside._

_"I will not!" Avon snapped, grabbing at the mats with both hands, trying to distance himself from Blake's finger play. For a big man, Blake had clever fingers, sliding in and hitting just the right spot time after time. Without any pain at all, damn it. Avon bit the pillow, but small whines of pleasure were already leaking out._

_"Thought so," Blake said smugly. "You like this. And you'll like what follows."_

_Avon whimpered, head buried in the pillow._

_"Yes." Blake oiled his erection thoroughly, dipping his wick several times to assure maximum lubrication. "This won't hurt a bit," he said, as he lowered himself, guiding his slick rod to Avon's quivering hole. He grunted, and pushed, sheathing himself with agonizing slowness, inching in, bit by bit, until Avon snarled and pushed up, forcing Blake all the way in._

_"Do it! Do it!" Avon sobbed. "I can't stand all this kindness! Please!"_

_Blake took pity on Avon, having made his point. And gotten his point in his 'maid'. He lifted up, his hands digging into Avon's shoulders and held him down, while he began thrusting hard. "Take that, you bastard!" he shouted, pushing and ramming his thickness up Avon's tight arse._

_"No," Avon moaned, relieved that Blake had forgiven him._

_"Yes!" Blake shouted, hips pounding his 'victim' deep into the yielding mat._

_Avon squirmed and squeezed a hand in underneath, to grab at himself. He could barely move under Blake, but if he held his hand just so, Blake's thrusts forced Avon's cock in and out of his hand._

_"Hold still!" Blake grunted. He pulled Avon's hips up while pressing down on the shoulders to increase the angle of penetration._

_"Oh," Avon gasped as even more Blake barged further into his port. "No. Please. You're so big."_

_"You're a big arsehole, Avon. You can take it." Blake clutched Avon's hips tightly so that he could pull nearly all the way out on each thrust without losing his place._

_"No, Blake. Oh, oh, ooooooh."_

_"Yes, Kerr, yes!"_

_"I didn't say you could call me that!"_

_"Tough titty." Blake was really enjoying himself. Not only did it feel good to screw Avon into the mattress, it felt good to win a round in their eternal psychological game._

_"I'll cry," Avon warned, fighting dirty as usual._

_"No, you won't," Blake said, reaching under to add his strong hand to Avon's grip, guiding the other's strokes._

_Totally surrounded and filled by Blakeness, Avon hung his head in surrender and arched his back, pressing himself tightly against Blake's sweaty belly. He began moaning in synch with Blake. The two of them were making so much noise, they didn't notice the sound of the lift returning._

_"There you are!"_

_Avon jumped. Well, not very far, but considering the number of extra stone(s) {depending on what kind you're referring to} he was supporting, it was a respectable effort. "Dayna. No. Not you, too."_

_Blake opened his eyes and gave her a sullen, furious glare. He did sullen very well. She was impressed. Enough so that she put down the shotgun and squatted on her haunches before them. Somewhere along the line she had not only gotten dressed, she'd also visited a Guns 'R' Us outlet. In addition to the Avon family heirloom pump-action shotgun, she was wearing a bandolero of black and white striped bombs, a pair of double-bladed, serrated bread knives, and what looked suspiciously like a string of silver Cybermats with venom oozing from their mechanical fangs. "You're very good," she said to Blake._

_"Don't encourage him,"Avon said as Blake pounded even harder._

_"I meant with that throwing weapon. It looked handy so I kept it. I hope you don't mind." Blake's ex-halo looked quite incongruous floating above the much-weaponed young woman's head._

_"Not at all," Blake grunted graciously, hips flexing and buttocks clenching. "Doesn't fit me any more, anyway."_

_Dayna casually watched, head bobbing as she followed the action. "You like that, Avon?" she asked._

_"Nooooo," Avon moaned, raising his hips to meet Blake._

_"Yes," Blake said, smugly._

_Dayna bent lower to peer up into Avon's face. "Yes," she decided. She looked sad. "Well, if Blake is what you need, then I suppose there isn't any future for us." She sighed. "Pity. It would have been nice to have had a family once more." She sniffled, precursor to a full-fledged tearfest._

_"Don't, Blake!" Avon said desperately, sensing that Blake's compassion circuit was about to overload. "She'll be fine. She can marry Tarrant if she wants a family. He'd be happy to take care of her. He loves children," Avon lied, not mentioning how horrified Tarrant had been while visiting the Kaarn nursery after the decantion of the first batch of infant Auronar._

_"Poor child," Blake said, and Avon's heart sank. Doomed. He was doomed. Blake was in full messiah mode. It didn't seem to affect his hormones, though. Blake continued, "Avon needs you too, I can see that."_

_Dayna brightened. "Oh, good. A triple bond?"_

_Avon made a small, pained noise as the last vestige of hope for any freedom eluded him. Between the two of them, he'd be lucky if they let him spend time alone with Orac, let alone an attractive individual of either gender._

_"Why not?" Blake suddenly froze and bellowed like a bull as he orgasmed, scooting Avon forward practically into Dayna's arms._

_She reached out, got a firm grip on Avon's testicles and squeezed.He screamed and came, collapsing, totally reamed out and helpless. Dayna squeezed once more, and said, over Avon's pained cries, "I think the two of us can keep him in hand," while grinning wickedly._

_Blake smiled at her over Avon's crumpled form. "I'll certainly keep up my end." He pulled out of Avon, patted the limp, sweaty arse below him and moved to one side of the room to consult with Dayna on the nuptial arrangements."He looks good in white," Blake said._

_"Does he?" Dayna considered a moment, then nodded. "All right. Cally as bridesmaid, Tarrant as best man." Blake frowned, but kept quiet as she finished with, "and Vila as rings bearer."_

_"Wait a minute. You're going to trust Vila with valuable jewelry?"_

_"Hmm. On second thought, Vila as best man and Tarrant as rings bearer."_

_"What about my side? Jenna would be a good maid of honor."_

_"Maybe." Dayna was doubtful. "But Cally said she wanted you. Wouldn't that be a bit awkward?"_

_"Oh, Jenna's got over that. Once I retro-engineered a Liberator handgun into a vibrator, she lost all interest in me."_

_"All right, then. I was thinking about pale blue tissue lame for the bridesmaids. Would that work for Jenna?"_

_Avon covered his head with both hands as they began arguing the respective merits of rice, birdseed and bubble blowers. When Blake began talking about little tulle bags full of butter mints, Avon crept toward the door, only to be brought up sharp by one of Dayna's Cybermats sitting in the doorway. Feeling suicidal, he picked up the mechanical silverfish. The little robot turned, antennae seeming to eye him and then it purred, rubbing sensuously in his hand. Avon whimpered.  
_

Cally couldn't help smiling as she returned to her own body. Avon was such a serious, stern man, but his fantasies were wildly silly. What was a Cybermat, anyway?

"Do men really feel that way about bonding?" Dayna asked, as she helped Cally with Avon.

"I imagine some do," Cally replied, checking the I.V. drip. Avon's activity level was rising all the time and he needed far more nutrients than your typical comatose patient.

"Pity." Dayna licked her lips. "I liked Blake. It would have been nice to be married to him and Avon."

"Oh, no." Cally shook her head. "The squabbling would drive you mad."

"Maybe. But I wouldn't mind trying." They both laughed.

Vila woke up then. "Hey, what's the joke?" He looked over at Avon. "Did I miss something?"

"Only everything," Dayna teased, as she went over to unbuckle the restraints holding Vila down. To be polite, Vila waited for her to do it, although he could probably have released himself quicker. He sat up. "Did I mess up Avon's therapy?" he asked, a worried frown creasing his forehead.

"No, Vila. In fact, I think we should leave him to rest for a while," Cally said.

"For a while," Dayna agreed, letting one hand trail along the length of Avon's leg. "See you later, Avon," she said, leaving with Vila, who was pretending to make a pass at her.

Dayna was enjoying herself entirely too much, Cally thought. She hated to think what would happen if Dayna tried to act out Avon's fantasies later when he was recovered. What the subconscious needs and what the conscious mind will allow are two different things. Particularly in Avon's case. She could see he had a strong need to be cherished and an even stronger need to be dominated- at least enough so that he could release his inhibitions without guilt. Dayna wouldn't be able to do that for Avon. Blake might have been, if he had been so inclined, and if he'd seen the need. Knowing Blake, even if he hadn't been inclined, he would have tried if he knew Avon needed it.

Cally was tired herself. She pulled up a chair close to Avon's cot, and sat, watching him sleep. He was very pretty when he slept, she mused. She yawned. It wouldn't hurt if she just laid her head down for a few moments. After all, Avon wouldn't start a dream without her, would he? She touched the side of his face lightly, for comfort, and fell asleep. (Cally looked around. She was back in the anonymous, door-lined corridor that Avon appeared to favor between trysts. It looked fuzzy and vague, then sharpened. Avon had learned to initiate a sequence on his own. She should have expected it.)  
_  
A regular pounding thumping noise began. It grew louder, interspersed with animal gruntings and thin frightened wails. Something was coming. Something big and mean. It came closer until she could no longer deny what it was._

_It was Gan. Gan, transformed by Avon's imagination into a ravening beast, a huge, naked thing of lust and fury, his crazed eyes as tiny and vicious as a feral razorback's. He slapped the side of his head and bellowed as he ran. People, mostly scantily clad young women, scattered before him. Gan took no notice of them. His mind, such as it was, was reliving the last time he'd broken free from the limiter. His lips curled as he remembered how sorry everyone had been for him. Suckers. He'd had his hands on Jenna's luscious body, he'd beaten the entire crew- he took a particular satisfaction in laying Avon low, that smug, arrogant, intellectual glitterboy. The limiter may have made him Blake's yesman, and Vila's good old buddy, and Avon's despised doormat, but it didn't make him forget what he really was. And now Gan's beast was loose._

_He hunted his prey. He'd been stopped once on the Liberator, but this time he'd have his way. Then his half-formed plans to sate his lust were disrupted by the application of a tranquilizer patch, he recalled. He grabbed one of the fleeing women and ripped the garment from her body. It was a long, winding length of white fabric, meticulously folded into a sari. He tossed her quivering, pleading form aside and draped her sari over himself after biting a couple of lopsided eyeholes in the fabric. Protected from contact tranquilizers, he marched on._

_Passing a door, he heard Jenna giggling and Avon's deeper tones- sounding well-satisfied. Enraged, with wild thoughts of 'MINE, MINE!' Gan pounded heavily on the door, which dented._

_"What is it?" Jenna asked, still girlishly giggling, "the Avon Lady?"_

_"No," Avon replied, laughing, "It's a door, and it's shut. And it's staying that way."_

_"LIKE HELL," Gan roared, and used both hamlike fists as mallets, WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! against the hapless door, which was only three inches thick of reinforced Herculaneum. The door split down the middle and Gan forced the pieces apart, stepping through the red-hot edges of the opening, careful not to catch his sheet. Avon and Jenna were in bed together, naturally. They were nude from at least the waist up and from the looks of things had been polishing off a magnum of Dom Perignon in between gropes. They were both more mellow than Gan had ever seen either one. It seemed a pity to him, as he was in the mood for a good fight. That, and other things._

_"Oh, look," Jenna said, her hazel eyes wide and slightly glazed, "it's Casper, the Friendly Ghost."_

_"The Extremely Friendly Ghost," Avon said, eying the immense protuberance in the approximate middle of the apparition. "I think..." he began in a tone of mild protest._

_Gan growled and leaped upon the bed, taking Jenna by the shoulders. Jenna smiled and tried to walk her fingers up his arms. "Hi, there, big boy. Your place or mine?" Gan began dragging her toward the door. Jenna looked over her shoulder at Avon. "Hey. Aren't you going to fight for me?" she asked, miffed._

_Avon looked up from buffing his fingernails and replied, "You must be kidding. Do I look like Blake? Or any other idealistic idiot?" He waved at her and her captor. "Enjoy yourselves."_

_Gan reached the door and flung Jenna into the corridor outside, to land on her well-padded posterior with bruising force. She sat up, outraged. "What!" Gan ignored her and grasped the still molten door segments, forcing them together._

_(Cally concentrated. Avon should not be on his own. There was a strong possibility of suicidal tendencies. He might have conjured Gan up for a neat, blameless death. He could not actually die as a result of his dreams, of course. But he could drive himself mad. If the sequence became too violent she would have to interfere. Somehow. But she was very tired, and Gan was very strong.) Gan turned back to the bed._

_Avon was standing up, eyes narrowed, Liberator gun held erect. A lot of things were erect, Gan noticed just before he pulled the sari's folds over his head and off._

_"You!"_

_"Me." Gan licked his thick lips, eyes ablaze with unnatural hunger. "Why are you so surprised?"_

_"You're the resident eunuch," Avon explained, in a tone that was kindly for him, but without lowering the gun. "Your woman was killed and you've never stopped mourning her loss. The Federation implanted a mind-control tranquilizing device in your brain that effectively destroys all emotional impulses. And you're dead." Avon shook his head. "It's impossible. Quite impossible."_

_"Is it, Avon? Is it really?" Gan said, stepping forward. The gun followed him, but so did a portion of Avon's anatomy that appeared to thrive on danger. "Avon, remember when we were rolling around in Liberator's engine room?"_

_Avon frowned. He thought it had been the auxiliary computer control room. But it had been a long time ago, and Gan was certifiably insane at the time. It was probably only polite not to mention it. "So?"_

_"Do you really think I was trying to stop you from repairing the stupid machinery?" Gan's face flushed with anger. It was intoxicating to be able to really get angry without that nasty little buzz-box interfering._

_"Actually, no. I thought you wanted to kill me on general principles." Avon shrugged. "Most people try at least once."_

_"And how many try to get you in the sack?" Gan sidled another step forward._

_Avon's eyes rolled, and he smirked. "Most."_

_"Avon...Kerr," Gan said, enjoying the narrow-eyed look of distaste Avon made at being called a dog. Really, though, he was such a son-of-a-bitch, he hadn't any right to complain. "Kerr, I was trying to rape you." (Cally sighed in relief. It had worked. She had convinced Avon that being raped by Gan would be punishment enough. Now, if she tried a bit harder...)_

_"Ah," Avon said, head cocked, cock heading upward with a delicate tremble that made Gan's mouth water. "The defective limiter drove you to it, no doubt. If you've come to apologize, I forgive you."_

_Gan put his hands up in frustration and clawed at his head while lurching in Avon's direction. "Damn the limiter!" He yanked and the little tin yarmulke caught in his unkempt fingernails and pulled loose. He tossed the beanie at Avon, who caught it automatically._

_Avon studied the thing in growing puzzlement. "It's an audio-playback device. Set to run continually. What's on it?"_

_Gan shuddered. "The complete, collected, unexpurgated, unabridged sermons of Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, and Oral Roberts."_

_Avon blanched and dropped the device as if it were covered with cooties. He turned his gun on it and melted it down to slag. The instant the gun's muzzle dropped, Gan leaped forward the last couple feet separating the two men and grabbed Avon's gun, twisting it into a Moebius strip. (He had thought of a pretzel, but knew Avon would consider it trite.)_

_"Ouch!" Avon snapped, as his fingers were pinched. He put his hand up to his mouth._

_"No!" Gan roared, slapping Avon's hand down. "I've got something else for you to suck." He arched his hips forward in invitation._

_Avon knelt and took hold of Gan's hips, then paused, sniffing as his lips neared Gan's crotch. He leaned back. "You've been with Cally."(Cally clamped down on her telepathic leakage. If Avon sensed her interference, he was quite capable of resenting it to the point of throwing her out of his mind.)_

_"So? Are you jealous?"_

_Avon laughed. "No, just fastidious. Let's shower, Gan." He stroked Gan's flank, head tilted back, dark eyes seductive._

_"Shower?" Gan was momentarily confused. What with three preachers dinning away at him for years, his sexual daydreams had been limited to half minute lusts during rewindings. Out of frustration and rage against the righteous sermonizers, his fantasies had settled on a perverted homosexual relationship, involving bondage, sadism, and one Kerr Avon. He'd chosen Avon partly because the man was so sensual, partly because Avon treated him like a stupid ox, and partly because Avon was exactly the amoral, conscienceless type that the sermons told him to avoid like the plague. But you can't get into too many details in a half-minute. Avon sucking Gan followed by Gan fucking Avon. That was about the extent of it. Looking down into the midnight depths of lust in Avon's eyes, Gan could see possibilities, wicked, lascivious and disgusting possibilities. His knees weakened. "Whatever you think best, Avon," he said, automatically falling back into his meek Liberator self._

_Avon scowled. "What?!" he snapped._

_Gan straightened and took Avon by the arm. "Into the shower, you little cat!" He shoved Avon roughly to the floor._

_"That's better." Avon rose and led the way to the lavatory, arse cheeks twinkling before Gan's dazzled eyes. Over his shoulder, he said, "And didn't you mean pussy, not cat?"_

_"I know what I meant," Gan growled, swatting at Avon's arse. Once in the shower, Gan turned on the water, grabbed the soap and started efficiently washing himself. After a moment, Avon's disapproving silence reached him. He stopped, looked down at the bar of soap in his hands, then at Avon, who stood, spraddle-legged and scowling, foot tapping at the tile floor in impatience. "What now?" Gan thought. "Ah!" he said, as it occurred to him that he was supposed to be ordering Avon around. He grabbed Avon by the back of the neck and pulled him up into a deep, tongue-twisting kiss. "Wash me," he said, gruffly, handing Avon the soap. Avon's nearness had made speech nearly impossible and he was proud of himself for getting that much out._

_"Of course," Avon said easily, "as you like." He'd had plenty of practice carrying on dialogues (and often monologues) while in the midst of sexual rapture. His finest moment had probably been the time he'd declaimed Hamlet's entire 'to be or not to be' soliloquy while Blake was busy screwing him legless. (Cally was quite sure that never happened.) Nice thing about Blake, nothing ever put him off his stride. Gan, on the other hand, was going to need education. He glanced down at the other man's cock and licked his lips. He was certainly a promising student, with considerable potential. Summa Cum Laud, and he probably would come very loud, indeed._

_Gan shut his eyes and leaned his head back into the decadent feel of the warm water. He spread his legs to better enjoy the even more decadent feel of Avon's finely toned hands sliding soapily up his inner thigh. Lovely. Gan sighed. Avon stopped.Gan looked down. Avon was pouting again. He began to regret not tossing Avon out into the corridor and taking Jenna. After all, a woman would be much more patient and understand... come to think of it, there was that time he'd had to help Blake to the medical unit from Jenna's quarters. Blake had been in considerable pain, nearly delirious with it, clutching at his crotch and moaning pitifully. He'd kept whimpering, "Standard by Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten... can't take it, G-forces, she's breaking up, she's breaking up," right up until Cally shook her head, sedated him and shooed Gan out of the medical unit. The next day, Blake had hobbled onto the flight deck to nobly announce that he was remaining celibate until the Federation was destroyed. (Really, Avon, that is ridiculous, Cally thought.)Maybe Jenna wouldn't have been all that patient._

_Avon sighed. Gan was standing there, monumentally stupid as ever, staring at a blank tiled wall, his face even blanker. "Look, Gan," he said, maintaining his calm by mentally repeating the comp-tech's motto, Garbage In, Garbage Out- in this instance meaning if he pissed Gan off too seriously, they'd be scraping him off the walls with a spatula and serving Creamed Chipped Avon on Toast. "We are here to screw around, aren't we?" At Gan's dumb nod, Avon smiled sweetly, and said, "We. That means both of us." Still getting no satisfactory response, he lost his temper, grabbing one of Gan's big, lax hands to put it on his shoulder. "Well, now. Pretend that you have finished your journey to Oz, finally acquired a brain and have some small idea what to do."_

_Gan squeezed Avon's shoulder experimentally, just a touch too hard. "And will you pretend to have gotten a heart?"_

_"Not in your wildest dreams. If you have sufficient imagination to dream. Which I doubt," Avon gritted out, as the pressure increased. Abruptly, Gan released him and Avon gasped in relief, glancing at his shoulder to see the white hand-print flush as circulation returned._

_"All right. You're clever. I'm stupid. I'm also a hell of a lot bigger than you. Now, taking those facts into consideration, do you really think your best course of action is making smart-arse remarks at my expense? "_

_Avon was impressed. Gan had made a logical, reasoned argument. Avon might even have said so, except for the fact that Gan had been acting as he spoke, taking a double handful of Avon's hair and pulling him into position to suck Gan's cock. With a mouthful of Grade-A, extra-large rebel, he really couldn't get a word in edgewise. He shut his eyes and concentrated on the job at hand- er, at mouth-, silently promising_  
himself a cutting riposte... later. Much later.  
Once Avon got to the root of Gan's deep-seated problem, the big man felt much more kindly toward the Alpha pain-in-the-arse. After all, for once Avon was going to be on the receiving end. He moaned in surprised pleasure as Avon's tongue rubbed slickly against the veins pulsing on the underside of his erection. The pretty lips pressed against Gan's crotch, sodden pubic hair making an incongruous beard and mustache for the clean-cut technician. "You look good in curls," Gan said, chuckling. 

_Avon's eyes rolled up, narrowed once more, and Gan could have kicked himself. "Sorry, I know you don't have a sense of humor," Gan said, making things worse. Annoyed, Avon began to bite down._

_Instinctively, Gan reached to protect himself and grabbed at the first bit of Avon that came to hand, with the strength of panic behind his huge hands. Avon yelped, let go of Gan's penis and twisted to one side, yelling in pain. He curled up into himself, whimpering like a whipped cur._

_"Damn, damn, damn!" Gan stood helpless for a moment, then said, "Avon. I'm really sorry. Let me see."_

_Avon shook his head violently, then cried out even louder. His whole body was trembling despite the cascading blood-temperature water still flowing over the two men. "Go away," he muttered, voice distorted by his hands held protectively over his face. "Stupid, clumsy bastard," he cried, "I wasn't going to bite you!"_

_"I know, Avon, I know. I just... well, I just forgot what a good-natured, loving, gentle individual you actually are, under all that Alpha bluster."_

_Avon began making a horrible noise, which a befuddled Gan eventually deciphered as laughter._

_"You've been dreaming, Gan." Avon's voice still sounded odd, but if he could laugh, the damage mustn't be that great._

_"Maybe," Gan said, shrugging. "I had a lot of time, sitting around in purgatory waiting for them to decide which way to send me."_

_"It's your own fault. You didn't have to hold up that wall for Blake."_

_"I didn't. I held it up for you," Gan blurted, once more letting his mouth run before putting his brain in gear. "I've always loved you."_

_"Love?!" Avon's voice rose to an indignant squeak as Gan said the forbidden four-letter word. "Why, you great, dim-witted excuse for a..." His hands dropped during his tirade, so he could glare properly at the object of his rage._

_Gan saw Avon's face and went white, jaw dropping in shock._

_Avon stopped in mid-berate. "Is it that bad?" Without waiting for an answer he climbed to his feet and located the shaving mirror. He stared. Except for the splatter of water, a dead silence descended on the shower as Avon stared. He brought an incredulous hand up to examine his face, to confirm by feel the reality of the vision in the mirror. "Oh, Gan," he cried, tears streaming down his face as he hurled himself into the other man's arms._

_Gan patted Avon on the back, trying to comfort. "I didn't mean to," he said, "maybe a good plastic surgeon ..."_

_"Are you out of your mind?" Avon pulled back, to look into Gan's confused muddy brown eyes. His own eyes were surrounded by rapidly darkening raccoon rings. "It's wonderful! I actually have a bridge to my nose! I can wear sunglasses! Servalan won't recognize me!" He began dancing, pulling Gan around with him like a semi-trained Russian bear. "How can I ever thank you?"_

_Gan looked down between them._

_Avon looked down, too. "Oh, that! Of course, of course," he said, cheerfully. "But I'm not taking any chances with my new nose."_

_"Then...?" Gan said hopefully._

_"Bed. We'll go directly to stage two of your fantasy." At Gan's startled look,_

_Avon smirked and added,"You are transparent, Gan. 'Suck and Fuck' are written plainly across your broad, honest brow." Playfully, Avon reached up to trace the letters on Gan's forehead.At the touch Gan shuddered, barely holding himself back from simply flipping Avon face down on the floor and getting right to arse backs- um, brass tacks. "Maybe we should wait," he said, whimpering inside at the idea of any further delay. "Aren't you in pain?" Good manners had been drilled into him by his dear, sweet mother. Lovely woman- she'd been an ice-hockey duelist. During the off-season she taught Sumo wrestling. You listened to Mamma Gan-san. Everyone did._

_"Yes," Avon replied. "Don't worry. I can suffer and have sex at the same time. I'm ambidextrous," he added with a wicked grin._

_"All right," Gan agreed._

_Avon shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. "Coming?"_

_Gan stepped forward so quickly he slipped on the forgotten bar of soap. His feet skidded out from under him, making contact with something firm, but not too firm, just before his tailbone connected with the tiled floor. "OW!" But I didn't say 'ow', Gan thought. He looked up. Avon was standing just outside the shower door, facing him, good humor entirely wiped from his face. "Keep that up, and I may drop a building on you myself," Avon snarled, before stalking into the  
bedroom, rubbing his right haunch as he went._

_"Sorry," Gan said, embarrassed. He got to his knees and crawled out of the shower, drying himself off on a fluffy bath towel the size of a young polar bear. He ran the towel roughly over his head, and decided against blow-drying. Better mildew than missing out. He blinked on entering the bedroom. The lights had been lowered to a dim, red glow, flickering like candlelight. Avon was sitting up in bed, watching Gan with a wary expression. Somehow in those few seconds he had gotten dry and had his hair re-styled (and grown two inches longer), body oiled, manicure and pedicure performed. Gan was still dripping and his thighs stuck together as he walked. "How did you do that?" he asked._

_Avon shrugged and ran one hand down his chest to fluff the fur up more attractively. "It's a gift." He pulled a silver -chased hand mirror out from under the pillow and smiled at his reflection. The bruising around his eyes had gone and the new, abridged version of Avon smiled back. He stretched, catlike, and flung the mirror across the room._

_Gan flinched, but the mirror miraculously landed unbroken on a throw rug. "Be careful, Avon. It would have been seven years bad luck if it broke."_

_"I don't have anything but bad luck. How else can I suffer beautifully?" Avon rolled over onto his belly  
and began humming._

_"I don't recognize the tune," Gan said as he approached the bed, inching closer, afraid of tripping over something in the dark and maiming Avon before he got to screw him. "Something classical? Brahms? Beethoven? Bach?" He was trying very hard to think of a composer who didn't begin with 'B' so Avon wouldn't realize he'd only gotten to the second volume of the Encyclopedia Galactica._

_"Very classical." Avon grinned and sang, "Oh, I wish I were an Oscar-Meyer weiner, Then everyone would be in love with me."_

_"Ah," Gan said, recognizing a perfect opportunity for not saying anything._

_Avon appreciated that. He glanced over his shoulder. Gan was huge. And quite tall, too. He began his Yoga relaxation techniques. "Ohm, Mani Padme Hum, Ohm, Mani Padme Hum, Padme Hum, Padme Hum."_

_"I don't recognize that song, either," Gan said, finally reaching the bed. Gently, he ran his hands down Avon's back, thumbs pressing, kneading and rolling when they reached a kneadible area. Then he got bolder, kneeling on the bed to straddle Avon while his fingers did the walking._

_"Ahhh," Avon said, as the advantage of really big, thick fingers was driven home. "It means- ahhh- something like 'the Jewel is in the Lotus'."_

_"And what does that mean?" Gan asked, without caring in the slightest what Avon's answer was. Just so he didn't say 'Stop!'_

_"I haven't the foggiest idea," Avon said, gleefully showing ignorance in at least one esoteric subject. It was so trying having to be the authority on everything. If he had known how many subjects he would have to keep current in, he would have switched places with Vila at the beginning. 'Delta idiot' was an easier role, but 'Alpha genius' had a better wardrobe and was more impressive to the ladies. "Care to guess?"_

_"Well, let me think."_

_"Don't strain yourself," Avon said, automatically. "I shouldn't want you to lose your place."_

_Gan chuckled. "Not likely." He spread his knees, to better balance on the satin sheet as he spread Avon's legs and lowered himself between. He paused. "Um, Avon?"_

_"Wha?" Avon mumbled into the pillow._

_"Lube?"_

_Avon sat up, twisting so Gan nearly fell. "Right. What flavor?" He pulled out the bedside drawer and began tossing tubes, jars, and squeeze bottles onto the bed._

_"Flavor?" In the Gamma domes, lube was anything slippery, hopefully not flammable or corrosive._

_"Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate? Neapolitan? Tutti-frutti, Pina Colada?" Glop in various colors was oozing out as Avon twisted off tops for Gan to sniff."Pine, Sandalwood, Cedar of Lebanon? Jasmine, Rose, Carnation?" Avon was getting impatient._

_Gan reached out at random. "This," he said, unscrewed the top of a mid-size tube, getting a handful of coconut-smelling sloppy stuff on his hands, his taut-stretched penis, Avon's arm, and all over the bed._

_"But that's..." Avon yelped as Gan shoved him face down and mounted._

_"YES!" Gan shouted, as Avon yielded nicely. The lube worked fine, much better than the cod liver oil he and his last male lover had used. A couple quick thrusts and he was working his way up the ladder of success._

_"No, Gan, no, no!"_

_"YES!" Gan clutched Avon's waist and continued his fancy hipwork. His verbal thrust and parry may have been weak, but no one ever complained about these thrusts. In until his balls kissed Avon's hotly, out until his cockhead was caught by Avon's tight muscles. And again, until Avon's squirms away became shuddering lurches back in time with his own rhythm._

_Avon whimpered, music to Gan's ears. And this time he was the composer. His hands slipped from Avon's waist to his hipbones, pulling up until Avon was on his knees in homage to Gan's power and dominance. "Slippery devil," he said, as Avon made a last-ditch effort to escape. He dug his grip in deeper and Avon yelped, froze for an instant, then started cooperating fully."That's better," he praised. He looked down at himself as his organ appeared at intervals between Avon's flushed pink cheeks. His balls were rock-hard, drawn up tight and hot against his groin, as large and purple as Jumbo Select Palmerian plums. His penis was more like Palmerian Summer Squash, the fat reddish ones that were full of seeds, but very sweet and satisfying. Yes, it looked to be a prime harvest season. Only to be expected, after all the cultivation he'd put into this crop._

_Avon was moaning and trying to get a hand back to his own swollen cock, but he needed both hands to  
support Gan's weight. Taking pity on his partner, Gan reached under and took hold._

_Avon screeched and softened, erection dipping from the pain. Gan loosened his grip. "Sorry."_

_"Sorry! You misbegotten son of a Euglena! I'll show you..."_

_Gan stroked gently, as if handling a newborn kitten and Avon gasped and stopped complaining. Of course, at the same time, Gan had changed entry angles slightly to pummel Avon's prostate into submission and instant re-erection. This wasn't the first time he'd been too much for someone and he knew how to compensate._

_"Atta boy, Kerr," Gan muttered, petting underneath as he slid back and forth, thrusts getting shorter as his excitement mounted. Avon was a really fine teammate in a pinch, Gan thought, as Avon's haunches shifted and rolled, the pressure reminding him of his youth on a dairy farm. If his hands had felt as good to the cows as Avon's arse did to his penis, it was no wonder they lined up at dawn for the milking._

_They were so involved that neither of them looked up as an explosion rocked the room, letting in the brighter light from the corridor. Gan merely tightened his grip and shoved in harder, making Avon jump and clench, which in turn made Gan thrust harder._

_"Stop it!"_

_A gun went off, blowing up the headboard. Dust fell onto the bed, the powder gently falling to land in lacy snowflake-like patterns over Gan's broad back. He resembled a really impressive slice of French toast loaded with powdered sugar._

_"STOP IT!" The legs of the bed were blown off. Gan grunted, caught his breath after the drop and humped harder. Avon was squealing underneath him, eyes wide open and blind, seeing only the glory of his nervous system going into hyperspace._

_"GAN! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Dayna shouted, in tears. She thought Gan was beating Avon to death._

_Sentimentalism roused Avon. He glanced back and caught a glimpse of Dayna. "AND I LOVE IT!" he yelled._

_That gave Dayna pause. She came around to the side where she had a better look at the action. "Oops," she said, upholstering her gun (in fine Corinthian leather). "Sorry to intrude." She sat on the edge of the bed to watch._

_Gan grunted. He gave one last titanic heave and stripped his hand down Avon's cock with a cowman's expertise, forcing the Alpha to orgasm at the same time he did, enjoying the exquisitely tight contractions around his buried cock. He yelled, pumped a few more times to finish filling Avon's arse with his juice, and then pulled out, falling on his back beside Avon. He smiled up at Dayna and waved, weakly._

_She frowned at Avon. "Who's this? Can't be Avon. Vila calls him 'Snoot and Snarl'." She giggled._

_Avon caught his breath, glared and turned his back on her._

_"Oh, it is you, Avon," she said, staring at the tattoo that she had done while he was unconscious on Sarran. She wondered if Avon knew he had 'I belong to D. Mellanby. Please return if found. Reward.' on his backside. Then again, who would tell him? "What happened to your nose?"_

_"He happened," Avon said, sounding grumpy._

_"What's the matter now?" Gan asked, rising on one elbow to stare down at Avon. "Aren't you ever happy?"_

_"You are an idiot," Avon snapped._

_"So what? I'm an idiot with a really big dick. Didn't you enjoy it?" He ran his hand down Avon's rump._

_Avon swatted at him. "The lube." He growled and rolled over in the bed, wrapping the sheets around himself. Obviously, he had said as much as he intended._

_"What about it? Didn't I get a flavor you liked? And what the hell difference does it make anyway?"_

_Dayna crinkled her nose. Over the smell of sweat, hot studs and the usual secretions, she caught a whiff of something out of place. She looked down at the crumpled bed and the scattered containers. She picked up the one Gan had used, sniffed, and studied the label for a moment, then grinned._

_She said, "SPF 25. What a waste. Using ultraviolet block where the sun don't shine."  
_

Cally came out of her trance to find Dayna bending over her. "You weren't supposed to start without me," Dayna said.

"I didn't," Cally replied, yawning in mid-word. "I fell asleep," she admitted. 

"Avon dragged me in." She rubbed at her eyes, then began checking over the medical equipment. "I hate this job," she muttered. "I am a saboteur, a communications expert, a master of hand-to-hand combat, and what do I get assigned? Nursing detail." She grumbled under her breath as she regenerated Avon's what-nots one more time, and added more nutrient to his drip.

"I never knew you felt that way," Dayna said, taken aback. Cally was always so cheerful and uncomplaining. She fetched a cloth to help wipe Avon down.

"Just once, I'd like to see Tarrant down here lending a hand."

Dayna said, "You're right. He should be here now. You're tired and need a break." She went to the intercom. "Tarrant, report to the medical unit, right away!"

Cally lifted her head, startled. "He will think it is an emergency."

"Good." Dayna folded her arms and nodded.

"What is it? Is Avon...?" Tarrant skidded to a stop. Dayna was scowling at him, Cally was staring at him with one of her more unreadable alien expressions, Avon was breathing quite normally and appeared in no particular distress. "What's going on?" he asked, irritably. "I have better things to do than play games with you."

"No, you don't," Dayna said, slapping the damp cloth into his hand. "Cally is exhausted. Vila and I helped, and we're tired, too. It's your turn to baby-sit."

"But...but... I don't know what to do!" Tarrant sputtered as Dayna strode past him, supporting Cally, who really did look worn out.

"Just hold his hand," Dayna called back over her shoulder.

Tarrant stood, dripping cloth in hand, staring at Avon. At least they should have covered him up, he thought. Out of common decency. He noted the state of Avon's crotch and wondered what they'd been up to. Poor Avon, he thought, at their mercy. He shuddered to think what a Delta, an alien, and Dayna, the wolf-child, could have done to a helpless Alpha. Particularly such an attractive one.

He ran the cloth over the spots that seemed to need a bit of mopping, draped a sheet over Avon and pulled up a chair. Avon murmured something as the chair legs scraped across the deck and he frowned, a line forming between his brows.

"It's all right, Avon. Cally and Dayna have gone. You're safe with me, Tarrant." 

Avon's hand rose and automatically, Tarrant took it. "There, see?" he said, as Avon's face smoothed out. "No Dayna. No Cally. No Vila. Just me."

"Dayna. Cally. Vila.Tarrant," Avon whispered.

Tarrant was pleased. Avon must be recovering. While he didn't like being saddled with Cally's job, it would serve her right to come back and find that he had cured Avon. Although Avon wouldn't be grateful. He brushed Avon's hair back from his face, letting his hands linger for just an instant too long.(Tarrant gasped. The medical unit was gone. He was in a large room which was dominated by a huge bed. Dayna and Cally were there and so was Avon. Avon was fully dressed, but unconscious, lying in the middle of the bed.)

_  
"Hmm," Dayna said, thoughtfully, while toying with Avon's belt buckle. "Should I unwrap my present now?" She smiled. "Daddy always made me and Lauren wait until after we'd blown up the candles on the cake."_

_"You mean blown out," Cally corrected from the other side of Avon._

_Dayna frowned. "I know what I mean." Abruptly she abandoned Avon and stood up. "I'm not in the mood anymore."_

_"Why?" Cally asked, sitting up in surprise. "What's wrong?"_

_"Nothing. I just..." Dayna looked as if she was about to burst into tears. She could do that on a moment's notice. (Tarrant hadn't decided whether it was because she'd never had to control her emotions, or that she simply didn't care what anyone thought of her. He rather envied her. As he and Avon could testify, Earth Alphas learned young not to show what they really felt.)_

_"Just what?"_

_"Poor Lauren. She never had anybody."_

_"She had you and your father," Cally said, uncertainly._

_"I mean she never had a lover. It's just not fair." The tears were coming faster now and Tarrant felt very uncomfortable. He really wished there were something he could do. Some way of bringing Dayna's sister back to life for her._

_There was a tentative knock at the door. Before anyone could answer it, it opened and Vila's head popped in. "Er, hope I'm not interrupting anything." He glanced over at Cally, who had her tongue stuck out as she wrestled with Avon's clothes. "Try the zipper under the arm," he advised. She had been looking at the knife she had removed from Avon's boot, apparently contemplating skinning Avon out of his leathers._

_"What are you doing here?" Dayna asked. "I invited Tarrant, not you. Where is he?"_

_(Tarrant looked around. No one seemed to notice him.)_

_"Well, I was at the bar, and I met this girl. She needed cheering up. You know how I can always tell when a person needs a sympathetic friend."_

_"Generally, it's when the person is young and beautiful," Dayna said._

_"Anyway, we got to talking, and I told her about my childhood..."_

_"Crookhood," Dayna said, running out of patience with Vila's long-winded prologue._

_"Anyway," Vila said, loudly, "One thing led to another..."_

_"It always does with you," Cally remarked, searching for the zipper Vila had mentioned._

_"ANYWAY, she was telling me about her childhood, and I thought I ought to bring her here."_

_Dayna ran forward, dropping her gun, as Vila opened the door with a flourish. "Lauren!" Dayna squealed and rushed to take her sister in her arms. "Oh, Lauren, I never thought I'd see you again."_

_Lauren hugged her back, tears of joy flowing down her face. "Dayna, oh, Dayna, what happened to you? Where have you been?"_

_"Where haven't I been would be a better question." Dayna pulled Lauren toward the bed, shoving Avon over without thinking about it._

_Lauren blushed. "Dayna, there's a man in the bed."_

_"Oh, that's just Avon." Dayna dismissed him with a shrug._

_There was a loud 'Ziiiipppp' . Cally had finally located the hidden zipper and yanked it down, exposing one side of Avon's chest. If Avon had been conscious, he might very well flinch from the hungry stares Dayna and Cally gave his pale flesh._

_"Uh, oh," Vila said, as Cally rolled Avon on his side, yanking the clinging leather off the computer tech's helpless body.Everyone looked to see what had startled Vila. Avon was in fairly decent trim, not too soft, nor overly muscular, with enough hair to be interesting without thoughts of anthropoid ancestry intruding. He was very pale. But not without color._

_"Hah!" Vila started laughing hysterically. "No wonder he never takes his shirt off!"_

_Vila helped Cally finish baring Avon's torso, and they leaned close to examine him. Tattooed in bright red , covering most of Avon's chest, was a large, Valentine - type heart, wreathed in curls of pink ribbon with doves and cupids flying around it. It was a good thing it was a large heart, for it was filled with tattooed names. At the top was 'Mother', followed by 'Anna', 'Blake', and a host of other names. The first ones were large and as ornate as Celtic knotwork, but they got progressively smaller and plainer._

_'Anna' had been struck through, they noticed. Cally rummaged through a small bedside desk full of dirty postcards and found a magnifying glass. None of the others dared to ask what that was supposed to be used for, as she held it over some of the less legible names._

_"Servalan!" Dayna was irked by the next inscription they discovered._

_"It's all right," Vila soothed. "He's put your name right next to hers, with a little dagger underneath, so you can get her."_

_Dayna brightened. "Cally, Vila, help me get the rest of Avon's clothes off. Lauren, get the Polaroid." She grinned. "I have got to have a picture of this for my album."_

_They propped Avon up against the headboard and took turns posing with him. He looked quite natural with his head resting on Vila's shoulder, or in Cally's lap. By the time they ran out of film and wicked ideas for poses, they were all breathless from giggling. Lauren had quickly gotten over her shyness and was quite bold about running her hands through Avon's hair - and not just the bit that grew on his head._

_Dayna carefully bundled up the photographs, after promising to have Orac make copies for them all. Vila wanted his made into a dartboard. He also suggested sending some to Servalan, just to show her what she was missing._

_Dayna laughed. "If you do that, she'll never stop chasing us."_

_"Yes, but we could drop Avon off on SinWorld, and give her his address. That'd keep the two of them out of my hair."_

_"What hair?" Dayna replied, grinning. "How much longer do you think he'll be out?" she asked Cally._

_"Oops," Cally said, after a quick glance at her chronometer. "We had better hurry if we want to get him too involved to say no before he wakes up." She stripped off her jumpsuit._

_Vila was quick to peel down to the buff himself._

_"Oh, Lauren," Dayna asked,"you don't mind if we fool around with Avon first, before we have our reunion party, do you?"_

_"Oh, no, not at all," Lauren said. She hesitated, then took off her own clothes. Since Cally and Vila had matter-of-factly stripped right in front of her, she felt less uncomfortable about it than she'd expected. "Do you do this sort of thing often?" She asked Vila, who had nonchalantly sat on the edge of the bed next to her._

_"Hardly ever," Vila replied. "Avon keeps us busy fighting the Federation and getting up Servalan's nose. Then again," he said, gazing at Avon's tattoo, "he may have wanted to get up something else of hers." He sighed. "I was always after Avon, myself."_

_"But you're both men," Lauren said, "you can't- well, do it? Can you?" she asked, puzzled._

_Vila grinned. "You'd be surprised what I could do." He patted her on the shoulder. "What do you know about sex?"_

_"Well." Lauren looked at the group clustered about Avon. Dayna was kissing Avon to the accompaniment of a lot of juicy noises and tongue movements while she pinched and pulled at Avon's nipples and Cally had gotten a dildo from the desk and was... Lauren blinked. Yes, Cally was carefully inserting the slippery looking object into Avon's rectum. "Not much, I guess. Just the functioning of the reproductive system and there was a series of computer lectures on digital masturbation that Father ordered for us. He said we'd need to know how to safely handle our biological urges. We couldn't socialize with the tribesmen, of course."_

_"Who'd want to?" Dayna said, over her shoulder. "Do you like Avon?"_

_"He's beautiful," Lauren replied. "Not at all like Father, or the tribesmen."_

_"Would you like to try him out first?" Dayna said. She was already beginning to work up a sweat and was breathing harder than usual. "It's much more fun with a real, live man than 'Bouncing Bob'."_

_" 'Bouncing Bob' ?" Cally said, eyebrows raised._

_Dayna and Lauren shrugged simultaneously, then giggled and sang a short commercial ditty. " 'Bouncing Bob, he's got the gift, On the beach or on the job, Blow him UP and get a lift.' "_

_Vila fell back against the pillows, laughing, while his cheeks turned a bit pink. He was used to Dayna coming out with some uncivilized remarks, but he'd thought Lauren more ladylike. Then again, Lauren was carrying a homemade weapon built along the lines of a bazooka with the negligent air of one who knew quite well how to use it. The Mellanby girls were nobody's easy mark. "I had a 'Bouncing Betty' myself," Vila said, a nostalgic faraway look glazing his eyes._

_Cally wasn't paying much attention to the conversation. She was smiling and softly singing a little ditty as she worked the dildo back and forth. She didn't know all the words, but the refrain of 'the hedgehog can never be buggered at all', came through clearly. Avon moaned in his sleep, legs trembling fitfully as he tried to avoid the discomfort, but Vila was on the other side, holding him in place._

_"Deeper, Cally," Vila advised. "He's starting to feel it." The thief wrapped one hand around Avon's penis and began squeezing and pulling. Avon shifted, tossing his head restlessly, his eyelids flickering. Vila knelt at Avon's crotch. "This'll get him going," he said, lowering his head to lick and nibble along the slowly rising organ._

_"No," Avon moaned, and arched his back, driving himself into Vila's mouth as Cally's thrusts intensified._

_Lauren watched, fascinated, as Avon's whole body shivered under the friendly assault. Dayna took her hand and pulled her over to the bed._

_"You'll see, it's easy," she urged. "Just like riding a horse- but more fun."_

_Avon's eyelids flicked more rapidly and he was gasping for air. Stimulated by Cally's whole-hearted reaming, Vila's rapidly moving hands and the sucking lips which were presently engulfing Avon's balls, Avon was fighting the drug. "NO!" he shouted, eyes flying open, sudden terror in their wide, black depths. "What?" he yelled, looking rapidly around at the avid, sweaty faces hovering over him. "What the HELL is this!" He tried to get up, but Cally shoved the dildo with such enthusiasm that he gasped and froze._

_"Shut up, Avon," Vila said, with a friendly smile. "We're raping you."_

_Avon glanced down at Vila's hands, still pumping, and said, "You seem- to have a firm grasp of the situation." He attempted a glare. "You might- ah- have asked."_

_Vila sucked the head of Avon's cock, hard, then pulled off with a wet and squelchy 'pop'. "We tried, but you wouldn't listen." Then he resumed the suction, hoovering Avon quite thoroughly._

_"Uh."Avon's eyes rolled wildly. "Damn. This is better than Bla..." He suddenly snapped his head down and stared at his bare chest. "NO!" He tried to cover the tattoo with one hand while shoving at Vila with the other. "Can't a person have any privacy around here!"_

_"Avon," Cally explained patiently, while continuing to stroke smoothly between his quivering buttocks, "we are your crew. One big happy family."_

_"I had noticed," Avon gasped. "And you are enjoying yourselves, aren't you?" he accused._

_"Probably," Vila, Dayna and Cally chorused, with wide grins, as Lauren stared at all of them._

_"Oh, all right," Avon grumped. He suddenly noticed Lauren and his eyes widened again. "I thought you were dead."_

_"Not here," Dayna said firmly, "and I want you to be very nice to her, Avon." She picked up her gun and waved it at him. "I really do insist."_

_Avon looked at the gun, then at the young lady in question. "I'm hardly--ooooh- in a position to quibble, now, am I?" He gave Lauren a smile that weakened her knees._

_"Good." Dayna took over, briskly. "Put him on his back. Cally, get that out. Vila..." she growled, as Vila was reluctant to release his prize._

_"Right. Now, Lauren, just climb on."_

_"I prefer to be on top," Avon said, frost dripping from his words._

_"This is my little sister. I'm not having her intimidated for her first time. If you won't cooperate, I'll have to punish you." Dayna's smile was evil. The large whip she produced out of nowhere was even more wicked._

_"You win," he said hastily._

_"Very good," Dayna said, smugly. "All right, Lauren, he's all yours."_

_Lauren had considered being embarrassed and decided not to waste time on it. Avon was flustered and looked quite irresistible with his beautiful mouth pouting and his gorgeous eyes sullen. So she climbed onto the bed and raised herself above his erect and quivering penis. "Relax," she said. "I do have some idea what to do." She held him in place and lowered herself slowly, taking him into her warm, wet depths in one smooth motion. "Oh, yes," she said, as he gasped wordlessly beneath her. "You are beautiful." She tensed her leg muscles and began rising and falling, working him around to hit all her favorite pleasure spots. She was young and strong, having kept fit by competing with Dayna and found no difficulty in this new style of sit-ups. Avon growled something unintelligible and reached up, one hand fondling her breasts, and the other on her back, urging her down. She didn't need much urging, leaning forward eagerly to meet his lips. With one smooth motion, he reversed their positions. Lauren landed heavily on her back and was momentarily startled, then she laughed._

_"Avon," Dayna said, with a warning snap in her tone._

_"No, Dayna," Lauren said. "Don't." She stretched her legs up to wrap around Avon's waist and sighed as he responded with deeper strokes._

_Avon showed his teeth. "I always... come out on top," he said, smugly, lifting his head to bestow an impartial glare on his crew. "Remember that."_

_"Yeah, right." Vila had been giving Cally a few tentative caresses while he enjoyed the show, but Avon's snotty Alpha attitude was just too much. Here they'd gone and set the bastard up for a nice, ego-deflating rape, and he was acting like the lord of creation. "Just you wait. You'll get yours."_

_Avon met Vila's gaze and made a big mistake. He gave a brief snort of derision and then ignored the other man, turning all his attention to Lauren. He kissed her, running his hands down her sides to stroke and fondle the girl into ecstasy. "Oh, yes, oh, Avon. You're wonderful. The best," Lauren moaned._

_"What's she know?" Vila grumbled to Cally, smarting under Avon's dismissal._

_"She knows what she likes," Cally said, ignoring Vila's touch to watch Avon's performance with hungry eyes. Disgruntled, Vila turned to share his feelings, but Dayna was standing there open-mouthed, watching the couple on the bed._

_"That does it. Pair of couch potatoes, that's what you are. All eyes, and no balls," Vila muttered as he found the discarded container of lube and slicked himself up. "Sat around and watched the vid all day long when you were sprats. Me and my mates, we made our own fun." He moved closer to the bed. "Oh, Avon," he called sweetly, stroking his erection to full, throbbing hardness._

_Avon grunted, eyes shut from the effort he was putting into his work, and made no reply.Vila leaped onto the bed, shaking the whole mattress._

_"What?" Avon noticed that and started to turn his head. "No!" he shouted as Vila grabbed him around the waist to hold him still while the thief mounted Avon._

_"VILA!" he yelled, indignant._

_"Shut up, Avon." Vila beamed. "God, how I've always wanted to say that." He guided his cock into place and pushed, hard, relishing the yelp the sudden insertion drew from Avon. "Told you, Lauren, you'd be surprised what I could do," he said gleefully, and began thrusting, pushing Avon even deeper into Lauren, who giggled._

_"Vila," Avon growled, low and dangerous._

_"I'm on top," Vila said, and nipped Avon sharply on the back of his neck. "And you're going to take it._

_And like it." He wrapped his arms around Avon's chest, pinching and twisting nipples taut, while Avon struggled to throw the other man off his back. Failing at that, Avon tried to bite Vila's arm, but Vila forestalled that by shoving his prick up Avon so hard that Avon's nervous system spasmed, forced him to lurch heavily into Lauren, then back reflexively onto the wet spike of Delta waiting behind him._

_Avon groaned, and dipped his head, panting heavily. "Aaah," he moaned as the initially painful sensation of impalement eased and his prostate began sending pleasure impulses to his brain. "Vila," he said, softer._

_"Told you you'd like it," Vila replied, hips pumping wildly. He was in control for once, making Avon dance to his tune. Hard and fast and deep, that was the way Vila waltzed, and Avon responded, wriggling his hips and tensing around Vila's cock. Vila appreciated that. "Oooh, Lauren's right. You are  
beautiful."_

_Avon was making some strange noises. He'd given up on fondling Lauren, as he needed the strength of both his arms against the bed to hold up the weight of the man on his back who was pounding madly away. He was shoved into her and yanked back out, entirely without his volition. Instinct kept his hips thrusting, but he was forced to meet the other man's rhythm, pulling off and pushing back onto Vila's controlling rod._

_Vila gritted his teeth and concentrated, thrusting hard, synchronizing the beat, beat, beat with the rapid pounding of his pulse. Avon was trembling beneath him, bowstring taut, and Lauren was screaming with totally abandoned delight. Lauren arched suddenly with such force that she shifted both men back as she wailed and beat at Avon's sides and clamped down on him in her frenzied completion. Avon screeched, every muscle standing out in high relief as he came. The contraction around Vila's embedded cock squeezed orgasm out of the third member of the group. They collapsed in slow motion to their sides, still locked together, but without the energy or the inclination to do more than lay there and breathe._

_"Very nice," Cally applauded, taking her hands off Vila's backside to do so. The more active members hadn't been too aware of anything outside themselves, but she and Dayna had gotten in quite a bit of groping during the orgy._

_Avon opened one eye to glare. Unfortunately, he was feeling too good to work up a proper glare. He looked instead stunned and sated, as one who's been thoroughly screwed ought to look._

_Dayna was sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling. She was dangling a Polaroid vid-cam by its strap. She held up a bunch of pictures, leafing through them idly. "Very photogenic."_

_Vila squirmed, but didn't dismount from Avon. Not yet. He was still enjoying being king of the mountain. He said, "I thought you were all out of film?"_

_"I found more."_

_Avon snarled and tried to get up, lunging for the film, with thoughts of confetti running madly through his head._

_But Vila wrapped his legs around Avon and hung on. "Nope. I'm not through."_

_"I am, though," Lauren said, slipping herself off Avon and getting up. "I could use a shower." She leaned forward to kiss Avon. "Thank you, I really enjoyed that." She straightened and asked Dayna, "Do you know where there are any practice ranges? That got me in the mood to do some shooting."_

_"Oh, it always does that to me too," Dayna said, picking up her clothes. "The bath's that way." Chattering as they went, the two young women left._

_Cally sighed. "Well, it was fun, but I have to go. Someone's got to take care of the ship." She blew Avon a kiss and walked out of the room._

_"Vila."_

_"What?" Vila was nibbling on Avon's earlobe and sounded muffled as a result._

_"Get off. Now."_

_"No," said calmly._

_"Vi LAH!" Sudden death in that tone._

_"OH, all RIGHT! " Abruptly, Vila released Avon, yanking his cock free. "That's gratitude for you," he grumbled, seeming unaware of Avon's anger._

_"Grati TUDE?" Avon almost squeaked. "For what?"_

_"Take a look in the desk and you'll see what Dayna had planned for you. Until I changed her mind."_

_Avon got up, gingerly, and hobbled over to the desk. "What could possibly be worse than being raped by a Delta?" he asked, snatching the desk drawer open. "Eeeee!" he screamed, leaping back to avoid the ferrets, slipped and fell onto the bed. "Shut the drawer!" he yelled, seeing the hungry light in those tiny, shoe-button, black eyes._

_Vila got up, shoved the loose creatures back into their den, and shut the drawer. "That wasn't the drawer I meant."_

_Avon shuddered._

_Vila opened the second drawer and pulled out a huge and spiky black leather dildo, and a pair of studded leather gauntlets. "S and M, nasty." He picked up another item and turned it round, trying to figure out its function._

_Avon sat up, interested. "You're holding that by the wrong end," he remarked._

_Vila looked up and nearly dropped the whatever it was. "How would you know?"_

_Avon put his hands behind his head and began whistling, innocently._

_"Avon?" Vila looked down at the thing, suddenly seeing several possible uses for it. He cringed, threw it back in the drawer, locked the drawer, and gave the key to the ferrets to guard. "Is that what you and Blake got up to when you'd go to his room for an 'argument'?" Vila asked, as the pieces of the puzzle slid into place at last._

_Avon grinned, shark-like. "We did have our 'differences' of opinion. And some rather 'heated' discussions." Avon's smirk widened. "Blake could hold his own. And mine. And probably yours, too. Big hands. Big mouth. Big..."_

_"ALL RIGHT! I get the idea." Vila swallowed nervously. "But why'd Blake leave then?" he asked, regretted it as Avon's pout turned sour._

_Avon rolled away from Vila, sulking. Then he thought better of the view he was presenting and rolled back. "I told him he was getting fat. He swore he wouldn't come back until he could fit into the leather outfit I'd bought him. But Blake never could stay on a diet." Avon sighed, and came out with a remark so horrible even Vila cringed. "A waist is a terrible thing to mind."  
_

"Tarrant? Tarrant! Are you all right, Tarrant?" Someone was shaking Tarrant. Hard. And yelling right in his ear. He slapped at the hands, and shook his head, opening his eyes to an unprecedented sight- Vila, looking concerned, even worried, about him.

"Yes, I'm fine," Tarrant answered automatically, with the Alpha male's ingrained response. Then his hands went up to his aching head. "No, I'm not fine. What the hell happened?"

"Avon has to dream his way back to us, Cally says. You fell through a hole into Avon Land. How'd you like it?"

Tarrant looked up at Vila, wild-eyed. "It was horrible. Avon was unconscious, helpless, on a bed and... Dayna... Cally... Lauren... and I couldn't do anything!" he yelled. "I could see and hear, and even know what everyone thought, but I couldn't participate. It was so damn frustrating."

"It was for me too, the first time," Vila said with a man-about-town air. "Until I got the hang of it. Then I could stick in my oar," he chortled.

"I wasn't even there," Tarrant wailed.

"That's a shame." Vila looked at Avon. "Well, I suppose I should call Cally back to take over, since you couldn't handle the job."

"NO!" Tarrant was flushed and angry, but he would not face the humiliation of having failed at any assigned task. "Just... give me a hand here, Vila. Teach me what you know."

Vila slowly began to smile. "Well, I'm not Cally. But I can show you around. At least I can make sure you're there. And maybe even get you Avon."

Tarrant gave Vila a blinding grin in return. "I'd like that."

"Thought so," Vila remarked. "But first, we have to take care of 'beautiful dreamer' here." Vila bustled around, showing Tarrant where to wipe, what drugs and nutrients to plug in, exactly what level the regenerator should be set at for the delicate job of reviving Avon's personal attributes. "He's running dry, now, of course," Vila said, matter-of-factly, "so you have to add this artificial stuff."

Tarrant winced, and obeyed. He was sure Vila made up some of the chores. Really, did Avon have to have his nose-hairs clipped right now?

"Right," Vila said, finally, just as Tarrant was expecting to be ordered to shave Avon's entire body. It was about the only thing he hadn't done. "Now, just sit real close to Avon." Vila said, "Um. What were you doing the last time when it started?"

"Vila! You don't know anything, do you?"

"Yes, I do! I just don't know how it got started. You see, Cally would touch Avon's face, and then go all funny, and then we'd follow her and Avon. How did you do it?"

"I...I touched his face."

"Well, start there, and we'll see what happens."

Steeling his nerves, Tarrant reached out. Avon was semi-conscious and he half expected a snap at his fingers, or at least a snarl, but Avon gave a soft moan instead and leaned his cheek against Tarrant's hand. Tarrant gently moved his hands.  
_  
And was back in a bedroom with Avon. Only this time he was on the bed, too, staring down at the false innocence of Avon's sleeping face. Conflicting urges drove Tarrant to do something to Avon. He'd always been torn between wanting to beat him up or kiss him senseless. He'd already tried the one, and found it curiously satisfying. He had knocked Avon out that first day to keep Avon's identity from the Federation death squad that had arrived on Liberator before Tarrant. And then looked down at the helpless, vulnerable form in skin - tight gray leather lying on the flight deck, and been stricken by an uncurable case of lust. The only thing that had kept him from jumping Avon's bones in the last year had been self-preservation._

_That, and the fact that Avon never let anyone know what his preferences, if any, were. Finding out about Anna had been both a disappointment and a relief. Disappointment that Avon's great love had been a woman, and relief that at least the man wasn't a eunuch. And then there was the thought that maybe Anna had destroyed Avon's desire for women, leaving him open to other ideas. He certainly never gave Cally or Dayna a tumble. Tarrant would have known. Dayna hadn't a discreet bone in her body, and Cally tended to transmit her feelings. All he ever felt from her in Avon's presence was frustration. He recognized the feeling._

_And now he had his chance. But what if Avon found out his dreams were more than that? While this argument raged through his mind, his body had already decided the issue. He found himself thrusting between Avon's firmly muscled thighs, running his hands along the well defined torso, down to the deceptively slender hips. Avon didn't wake, but he responded, his breath shuddering as Tarrant's touch brushed the softly curling hair surrounding his genitals. Slowly, Avon was filling, hardening, as the sensations reached through the chemical barriers. Tarrant brought his head down to his unwitting victim and began suckling at Avon's nipples, first one and then the other.Avon liked that, it seemed, arching up into the caress as the nipples peaked. His eyes were still shut, but they moved rapidly under the lids, as if he were dreaming. "Roj," he whispered._

_It was like a bucket of cold water thrown in his face. Tarrant rolled off Avon, and lay beside him, cursing. Then he discovered that the two of them were not alone._

_Dayna was sitting cross - legged on the edge of the bed, naked, apparently stimulating herself while she watched him and Avon. "What's the matter?" She asked, annoyed. "It was just getting good."_

_"Yeah," Vila added, indistinctly, around a mouthful of Cally's breast. Vila was sitting in an overstuffed chair with Cally on his lap. She ruffled Vila's hair and put his hands back a bit further, to massage her bottom as she squirmed._

_"He doesn't want me," Tarrant answered, almost in tears. He turned and pounded the pillow._

_"Nonsense," Dayna said briskly. She reached forward and grabbed Avon's cock, pumping it slickly. "He doesn't know who's here. He doesn't even know he's here. It's just a nice wetdream, as far as he's concerned."_

_"How do you know?" Tarrant asked, miserably. He had turned back to watch Avon. That beautiful face was smiling and gasping as Dayna fondled him. Avon certainly appeared to be enjoying himself._

_"The Sarrans weren't too cooperative as playmates either, Tarrant. Lauren and I used to pick out a nice, healthy - looking young stud for our weekends. They never knew what happened." She giggled. "It got to be a rite of passage for them- go to the beach and sleep and dream of beautiful girls having their way with you. Believe me," she said, grinning ,"it won't hurt Avon if you have a little fun. He's so doped, he'll never remember."_

_"Well..." Tarrant thought about it for all of a half-second, then moved down to try a new tack. He nuzzled Avon's crotch, while Dayna murmured encouragement and ran her fingers through Tarrant's hair. He licked Avon's cock, tasting musk and chocolate-mint flavored lubricant. Avon groaned again and shifted, lifting his hips in silent demand. "All right, then," Tarrant whispered and opened his mouth to take Avon in._

_"Vila," Avon purred, thrusting lazily into Tarrant's throat._

_Tarrant choked, gagged and pulled off. He rose from the bed._

_"Don't," Dayna warned. She pulled her gun on him._

_"You won't shoot me," Tarrant said, shortly. And even if she did, it wasn't real, was it? He wasn't sure. Avon certainly felt real._

_"Ow!" Tarrant yelled. He looked down at his chest and the tiny dot of blood there in amazement. "You shot me!" His heart pounded and his body temperature rose- along with something else which he had thought couldn't possibly get any higher or harder._

_Dayna dropped the gun over the side of the bed. "Now, be a good boy and screw Avon."_

_"What..." Tarrant gasped, and looked down at himself. Now, THAT was amazing. His flame- red cock was swollen almost to bursting, standing on end and quivering like a hunting dog on point. He turned helplessly toward the bed and could almost hear the poor hound whine and paw at the ground as he faced Avon. "What was in that?""Love Potion number nine," Dayna informed him._

_Cally and Vila had tumbled off the chair and were lost in the two-foot-thick white shag rug that covered the area. Occasionally, Vila's buttocks were seen to rise above the snowy terrain like pale-pink balloons bobbing above the forest, while Cally growled like a tigress getting her fill of fresh meat._

_Dayna was sitting up, smiling like Mona Lisa. "Works every time."_

_"Damn." Giving up the struggle, Tarrant leaped atop Avon, barely putting his elbows to the side in time to prevent himself from entirely crushing the other man's chest beneath him._

_Avon wriggled under Tarrant's weight and surprisingly chuckled as Tarrant wrapped both arms around him and gave him a powerful hug. "Olag," Avon muttered and passed his hands gently over Tarrant's back._

_Getting really pissed, Tarrant bit down on Avon's collarbone, hard enough to draw blood. "Del Tarrant, damn it, it's Del Tarrant!"_

_Avon started half upright, his unfocused eyes opening in shock. "Servalan," he moaned and began rocking his hips hard against Tarrant's cock. "Ooh,baby." He pulled Tarrant's head down and whispered into his ear, "I'm better than that puppy, Tarrant, aren't I?"_

_That was just the outside of enough. Tarrant reached down with both hands, grabbed Avon's knees and forced them up and open. Avon cooperated at first, but when Tarrant tried to put Avon's knees up higher, he met unexpected resistance. "No, Tynus," Avon growled, eyes opening to dangerous slits, lips drawn back from his teeth. His hands were abruptly around Tarrant's balls, in deadly earnest. "We're not going to hurt each other, are we?"_

_"No," Tarrant agreed, shakily, slowly easing his grip on Avon's legs, which settled to either side of him._

_He reached for the lubricant and applied a generous handful to Avon's privates, carefully working his way down and back. "Is that better?" he whispered against Avon's neck, one finger rubbing against Avon's hole, which relaxed and opened._

_"Umm. I like it when you do that, Keiller," Avon's voice deepened, full of desire, and his hands stroked gently._

_Tarrant shook his head. Who the hell was Keiller? His lips tightened. Every warm body in the universe had had Avon - except him.Why the hell hadn't he ever given Tarrant a tumble? All he ever got from Avon was the short and nasty end of the stick. No more, damn it, no more. Three fingers rammed up Avon's arse produced a gratifying clutch and tremble, and he carefully did not listen as Avon moaned, "Oh, Travis, not the lazeron- it's too cold, lover."_

_He scooted his knees under Avon's hips and was pleased when Avon locked his legs around Tarrant's waist. "Yes," Avon purred, as Tarrant pried Avon's buttocks apart and guided the dripping head of his long-deprived cock to the opening between them._

_"Ahhhh." Avon's long exhalation was music to Tarrant's ears. The pilot pushed, hard, half-sheathing himself in one go. Avon's eyes opened, wide and bright, and for a moment, Tarrant was afraid the man was awake. But then the long-lashed eyes slid shut as Tarrant began thrusting, all control lost. His hips slammed down, driving Avon deep into the mattress and scooting him toward the head of the bed with each pump._

_Avon writhed and cried out beneath him, clawing frantically at Tarrant's back. Tarrant barely noticed, too caught up in the feel of Avon, tight and hot, around Tarrant's aching prick. He forced Avon's shoulders down to the mattress, making the angle of entry deeper, then roughly dug his hands into Avon's thighs, holding him still while he pistoned rapidly in and out of Avon's taut arsehole. All too soon, orgasm struck, stiffening him in place, as he filled Avon with hot juice. He collapsed backwards, panting, still half-hard within Avon, his hands still clutching Avon's hips tightly to him._

_"No!" Avon yelled, and Tarrant opened his eyes to his worst nightmare. Avon, sitting up, wide awake and furious, impaled on Tarrant's cock and squirming like mad. "Damn you, Del!" Avon snarled, and Tarrant's heart nearly stopped. "You precipitous puppy!" Avon grabbed at his own cock and began pumping, while he forced himself further onto Tarrant. "I always have to do everything myself!"_

_"I'll help!" Dayna said brightly. She yanked at Tarrant's shoulders, pulling him flat, then crawled right over his face, giving him an excellent view of her excitement. She continued on, and knelt up astride Tarrant, facing Avon. Avon wrapped his arms around the girl, lifting her higher, so that his cockhead brushed against her pudenda. He nuzzled her neck and then eased her down, gasping as she enveloped him in her warm, welcoming depths. "Oooh," she squealed and immediately began bouncing up and down, her flanks smacking against Tarrant as she rode Avon faster and faster, giggling like a happy child on a merry-go-round.  
Tarrant lay flat on his back in a state of shock, watching Dayna's ebony back rise and fall rhythmically over him, while Avon's pale, white legs tensed to either side of his hips. Then Avon clenched his arse muscles, and Tarrant cried out, involuntarily lifting his hips. Avon began moving in Dayna, incidentally sliding back and forth on Tarrant's rapidly reawakening cock. Tarrant took a deep gulp of air, braced himself, and lunged upright, tumbling Dayna on top of Avon and Avon on his back. "You bastards!" he shouted, "You were in this together!"_

_"Well, now," Avon said, slightly muffled against Dayna's bosom, "I got tired of waiting."_

_"And me," Dayna sighed and pumped herself up and down a few times. "A ship full of studs, and I had to make do with a Liberator hand-gun vibrator."_

_"And what are you going to do about it, Del?" Avon said, twisting his head to one side so he could just match eyes with the angry pilot past Dayna's shoulder._

_"I'll have my revenge." Tarrant yanked Avon's legs higher with considerable effort as he had to lift the entwined Dayna at the same time. He snatched a couple of conveniently handy bolster pillows and shoved them in place, curling Avon up like a shrimp roll, with Dayna the filling._

_Avon protested. "This isn't exactly comfortable."_

_"Tough." Tarrant braced himself, arms on either side of Avon's head. "Complain to the management." He spread his knees to provide greater support and pulled nearly out of Avon, looking down at the wide-stretched hole he filled, then rammed forward, grunting with satisfaction as Avon cried out._

_Dayna yelled, too, as Tarrant's force produced a jerking pulse in Avon's cock. "Do it again, Del," she demanded, whooping and wriggling on Avon's shaft._

_"Anything to oblige," Tarrant said, and repeated the motion. From near withdrawal to complete sheathing in an instant. Time and again. Avon gasped and tried to crawl backwards to evade the punishment, winding up pressed against the headboard, while Tarrant pounded a drumbeat message up his backside."Del, say it, Avon, it's Del, screwing you into the ground, say it!" Tarrant shouted as his balls grew impossibly hard and crept up tight against his groin. Either the drug Cally had shot him with, or Avon's infuriating arrogance, or his anger at being tricked, gave Tarrant the stamina and self-control he'd never had. Avon whimpered beneath him, totally unable to gather breath to give in to Tarrant's demand, even if he wanted to._

_Dayna screamed in ecstasy and tightened on Avon, forcing him to come. Tarrant grimaced, caught between pain and pleasure himself, as Avon's orgasm made his sphincter muscles contract around Tarrant's sheathed cock. He wanted desperately to come, but refused to allow it. Not yet, not until Avon was damn sorry for playing Del Tarrant for a fool. Dayna sighed and wriggled forward, pulling herself off Avon's limp cock and out from between the two men. She crawled to one side, curled up like a kitten and fell asleep almost immediately._

_"It's just us now, Avon," Tarrant snarled. He looked down and was shocked to see blood on Avon's face. "Avon?" he whispered, suddenly contrite, pausing, locking his hips against his body's instinctual demands._

_"Del." Avon licked his bitten lips and smiled. "It's Del, screwing me into the ground. Finally." He stretched his legs, putting his knees over Tarrant's shoulders. "I always knew you were a big prick. Now prove it."_

_"Oh, you do love to live dangerously." Tarrant grinned. "But then, so do I." He lowered his head to kiss Avon, grabbing the other's chin when he attempted to turn aside. "I'm on top," he reminded Avon._

_"This time," Avon said and the implied promise made Tarrant's cock jump inside the tight confines of Avon's arse._

_"My way, this time, " Tarrant accepted the offer. He dug his fingers into Avon's jaw, forcing the other's mouth to open, to accept his tongue, his possession of Avon, inside and out. He hardened even further while kissing Avon, despite the patent impossibility of it. When he released Avon's jaw, the sultry, satisfied look on Avon's face startled him. "You liked that. Admit it, you're enjoying this."_

_"Probably," Avon muttered. His eyes rolled up as Tarrant's cock moved deeper. "Yes," he moaned._

_Tarrant shook his head, amazed at the perversity of the other man. Every time he tried to be kind and understanding toward Avon, he was shot down in flames. And all it took was a little near-rape to make Avon happy. He wished he'd known a year ago. Oh, well, anything to please your commanding officer. He'd make the sacrifice._

_Tarrant pushed down on Avon's legs, splaying his lover open even wider, even more accepting, and thrust, swift and hard, feeling Avon's cock pushing back at him, once more hard itself. He trapped the throbbing organ between their bellies and lay on Avon heavily, only his hips moving, rising and falling with all the force of his entire long, muscular body behind him. He seldom used his full strength on a lover, out of consideration and fear of causing harm, but Avon demanded it, begging for more, and more._

_He panted, desperately sucking in oxygen, his muscles trembling with the strain, until Avon screamed and shot semen between them._

_"No. No more," Avon wept._

_Vindicated, Tarrant held out for a few more strokes into the trembling body beneath him, then shouted and released his own seed, pulsing into Avon's arse. He rolled to one side after a minute, and lay there gasping._

_"Well?" he asked after he got his breath back._

_"Very well," Avon said sleepily. "You did a good job." He patted Tarrant's cock. "And you too, Del."_

_Tarrant came out of the trance and glared at Vila. "That wasn't funny, Vila. Half the time Avon didn't know it was me. And then Dayna interfered."_

_"I'm new at it," Vila protested. "Cally just watched, you know. She didn't get into her character in Avon's dreams, like we did. That makes it harder."_

_Tarrant's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you weren't just playing a joke on me?"_

_"Scout's honor," Vila said, with wide-open eyes, making a peculiar gesture with his fingers._

_"I don't suppose even a Delta would go against that oath," Tarrant muttered._

_"All right. We take care of Avon and we try it again."_

_The same bedroom. The same unconscious Avon. Vila, Dayna and Cally were there too, in much the same relative positions. He reached for Avon, and discovered a difference. Avon shook his head, and woke. Glaring at him._

_"I didn't want this, Avon," Tarrant lied. "I'm not interested in you." It was a probably a terminally stupid thing to say under the circumstances, but his mind stopped working when Avon's eyes speared like icicles through to his brain. Dayna wasn't any help, standing there snickering as Avon looked up and down Tarrant's lean form, staring at the prominent evidence of Tarrant's 'lack of interest'._

_"Oh?" Avon stretched, slowly, running his hands down his flanks and then back up, pausing to idly scratch an itch where the waistband of his leather trousers had left a mark. "Then in that case, I suppose I am free to ..." His voice trailed off and Tarrant turned to see what he was looking at._

_Vila was sitting on a chair, naked, with Cally on his lap. Her jumpsuit had rolled down around her waist, pinning her arms at her sides. She did not appear too displeased by this turn of events as Vila's left hand was caressing her breasts. It was his right hand, however, that Avon was staring at. Vila's gun was aimed midway between Dayna and Tarrant -neatly bracketing Avon in the middle._

_"Nobody goes anywhere." Vila chuckled. "For once we're going to do this right."_

_"And what is your definition of 'right'?" Avon asked, pouting deliciously in a manner which had Tarrant trembling. Avon noticed and gave his mutinous pilot a glare, just to cool things down a trifle. He did not appreciate being ordered around or coerced into anything. Particularly not by snippy young ladies, cocky young pilots, or sneaky Deltas old enough to have known better. If it had been Cally now... bondage games with her had a certain appeal._

_"We all belong together. And if you won't cooperate, I'll turn you over to Dayna and Cally. They have some good ideas."_

_Avon licked his lips, nervously. "Whose ideas?"_

_"Well, mostly Dayna's."_

_Dayna grinned. "I learned a lot from the Sarrans. Either you let me tie you down for Tarrant, or Vila shoots you with a stun blast, and I tie you down for me." Her teeth looked very pointy when she smiled._

_Avon lay on his back and spread his arms and legs out. "Tarrant, I'm all yours." He shuddered, as she shrugged and tied him down._

_"Really, Avon," she said, testing the leather straps to make sure they had just enough play to be interesting. "I didn't know you were such a baby about a little torture. You went through five days of interrogation on Earth without raising a sweat."  
Tarrant grinned and moved over to Avon. Vila said, "Wait a minute. You wanted everything fair, didn't you, Tarrant? Dayna, tie flyboy's hands together."_

_Tarrant spluttered in protest, but Dayna thought it was a great idea. She went a bit further on her own and tied one of Tarrant's legs to the bedpost._

_Vila waved Dayna over to him and Cally. "Luckily there's another bed so the girls and I can just take this one over here, while you two get to know each other better. C'mon, girls," Vila said, an arm around each lithe waist, "let me take you to the Delta Olympics. We'll start with Pole Vaulting."_

_Cally reached up and stroked the hair on Vila's chest, running her fingernails down all the way. She fondled his crotch a moment, while Vila's eyes grew wide as saucers and his grip on the gun slackened._

_"How about Discus Throwing?" she murmured, grabbing a good handful of family jewels and squeezing firmly._

_"Yipe!"_

_Cally smiled, smugly, as she retrieved the gun._

_"At last. I'm glad someone hasn't let hormones go to her head," Avon said, yanking against his bonds. "Untie me and let's escape."_

_"Vila," Tarrant yelled, "You promised!"_

_"Cally!" Avon yelled as the Auron threw her gun aside and wriggled the rest of the way out of her clothes._

_She said, "Look, Avon, you have never even noticed me. I am tired of teleport duty and the med-unit. I deserve a holiday and I am taking it now. "_

_"And that goes double for me," Dayna added, having gotten a good glimpse at Vila's potential and decided to try for a gold medal. "You won't even let me kill Servalan."  
"It wasn't my fault." Avon turned his best, darkly compelling, smoldering stare on Dayna, and continued, "She's too dangerous to kill! She's probably set booby traps all around her body!" Avon was starting to get shrill as Dayna giggled on Vila's arm, ignoring Avon, and Tarrant edged closer with a dawning hope in his bright blue eyes as it seemed that he really was going to get Avon this time. "I'll kill you," Avon yelled, "I'll kill you all!" he resorted to threats, in desperation._

_"Nonsense," Tarrant murmured, as he neared. "This is a dream. You can't kill me, sweetie." He wobbled closer to Avon._

_"Sweetie!" Avon strained against the bonds until the straps dug in. "Oof," he grunted as Tarrant fell right on top of him. "Get those bony elbows out of my gut," he demanded._

_"Can't," Tarrant said. "Hell." He squirmed, rubbing a certain warmly pulsing part of his anatomy against Avon's knee._

_"You know, for a pilot, you have a lousy sense of direction," Avon remarked, giving in to the inevitable. After all, he was supposed to be pragmatic, and adaptable, and so sexy that Sopron rocks got hard thinking about him. Might as well enjoy it. Only there wasn't much to enjoy with Tarrant lying half on top of him, making it difficult to breathe and not doing much of anything else._

_"Dayna tied me up too good," Tarrant finally admitted. "I'm stuck. I can't move."_

_Avon turned his head as best he could. Glancing past the corner of Tarrant's angular shoulder, he could see the curtains billowing on the huge four-poster bed that Dayna, Cally and Vila had occupied, pulling the drapery shut after themselves. They couldn't see the Alphas' predicament even if they were inclined to care to help them, and they certainly couldn't hear anything over the creaking of bedsprings and shrieking they were producing. "Wonderful." He let his head fall back against the pillow._

_"This is a problem," Tarrant said, "that requires our combined efforts."_

_"At this point, I'm willing to try anything." Listening to the Delta Olympics was rather stimulating. Especially when Dayna kept shouting, "A New World's Record!"_

_"Do you remember the scene in 'Lady and the Tramp' where the two dogs eat the same spaghetti strand?"_

_Avon's eyes narrowed. "If you think I'm going to admit having seen a Disney cartoon, you're out of your alleged mind, Tarrant!"_

_"The leather straps, Avon, what if they're tied with slip knots? Not yours," Tarrant added hastily. "But mine." He managed to pull his hands up between the two of them, rubbing hard against Avon's growing problem as he did so. "You take one end of the strap in your teeth, and I'll take the other, and we pull."_

_"All right. But only to keep you from suffocating me." Avon nipped delicately at the strap before taking a solid grip. His lips peeled back, and he grimaced. "Tass awfu," he mumbled around the leather._

_"I don't know. I rather like leather," Tarrant replied, biting hard into the other end. He grinned briefly, then settled down to pulling in earnest. The leather resisted at first, but nothing can possibly resist both Avon and Tarrant for long._

_"That's better." Tarrant spat out the chewed leather and rubbed his wrists where chafing had begun._

_Nothing unattractive, mind you, just enough of a boo-boo to call for a bit of massage. He got up, leaning heavily on Avon for a moment, then turned to untie his ankle. "Ah." He stood up and stretched._

_"Fine. Now do me."_

_"I thought you'd never ask." Whistling, Tarrant approached the bed, reached for a drawer in the desk and pulled out a nice, big jar of lubricant._

_"How did you know that was there?" Avon growled. "Did you plan this? Did you set this all up? Did you betray me?" Avon's eyes were absolutely enormous, the pupils black with seething emotion._

_"No." Tarrant refused to feed Avon's paranoia. Whistling cheerfully he opened the jar.And then discovered yet another impediment on the road to true love- or at least honest lust. Avon was lying flat on his back. That would have been just fine for Dayna and Cally, but it presented a problem for him and his ultimate aims. He dipped his hand in the lube, then fondled Avon's genitals for a moment while he considered the matter._

_Avon dropped his head back on the pillow, so far forgetting himself as to close his eyes and moan in pleasure. Well, Tarrant thought, isn't that a pretty picture. Summoning up the skills and dedication to duty which had gotten him through the Federation Space Academy via night classes while he worked as a bus boy in Planet Avalon during the day, he rubbed Avon the right way, for a change, until his Fearless Leader was too distracted to notice much of anything. Then he untied Avon's ankles quickly and flipped the other man onto his stomach, mentally thanking Dayna for leaving enough play in the wrist cords to make it possible._

_"Tarrant!" Making a dent in the mattress as he landed brought Avon to his senses. "Don't you dare!" He tried to kick out, but the pilot had already secured one foot and was hauling on the strap that held the other one._

_"Never dare me, Avon." Tarrant growled, having gotten really very annoyed that Avon kept protesting. He hadn't minded Vila at all. And from Vila had said about the other dreams, Gan and Blake were right up his alley without complaint. Hell, Avon probably wouldn't even sit on a dock and drink Bud Light with him. He fastened off the rope and then went to check the refrigerator, just to be sure. Yep. No beer.  
But the two jars of marshmallow creme and half - gallon tub of maraschino cherries gave him pause. Hmmm.... He looked in the freezer compartment, and found the answer, the key to Avon._

_"Avon," he said, in his most sultry voice, turning back to the bed, with his find hidden behind his back. "What would it take to get you to cooperate with me?"_

_"Well," Avon said, considering it seriously, as he was always serious when considering a potential profit. "Five million credits, the overthrow of the Federation, my hands on Servalan's throat..."_

_"How about this?" And Tarrant whipped his secret weapon out from behind his back._

_"How about what?" Avon said, grumpily. "In case it slipped your notice, I'm lying on my stomach. I can't see a damn thing. And the circulation in my arms is getting cut off. You'd better loosen the straps."_

_"In a minute." Tarrant placed the carton on the headboard and gently tugged Avon's face up to where he could see the frost-rimed lettering on the striped cardboard._

_"Vanilla Swiss Almond?" Avon's voice was hushed, a worshiper in the cathedral of cholesterol. "With real Nuts?" Tears came to his eyes. "Tarrant, please?"_

_Tarrant opened the carton, slowly, sensuously, making it a strip tease. Avon licked his lips and drooled genteelly into the satin sheets. Tarrant dug the silver spoon deeply into the ice cream, disrupting the smooth perfection of the letters embossed into the surface. He held the laden spoon in front of Avon's  
mouth, and waited._

_Avon struggled to reach the spoon, stretching his tongue out to catch the drips that formed as the ice cream slowly melted. Not being entirely dim-witted, he got the message. "All right, all right. I'll cooperate. Anything. Just let me have a bowl first."_

_"Half a bowl," Tarrant said._

_"Don't push it," Avon growled, then he whimpered as Tarrant put the spoon in his own mouth and leisurely savored the treat._

_"Delicious." Tarrant licked his lips. "Maybe I'd rather have the ice cream."_

_"Tarrant!"_

_Tarrant laughed. "On second thought, you're gorgeous when you're angry." He untied Avon's arms. "Now, remember, you promised."_

_"Yes, yes, I know." Avon propped himself up on his elbows, reached for the carton and the spoon and began excavating._

_"I said half a bowl!"_

_"You didn't say how big a bowl."_

_Rather than get an eye gouged out by the whirling spoon, Tarrant backed up a few paces. When Avon paused for a breath - and because the cold was making his teeth ache - Tarrant snatched the carton. "I'll just put this back in the freezer for afters." When he returned, Avon had a sulky look again and was sharpening the spoon handle against the brass bed-post._

_"Avon, be a sport." Tarrant said, warily watching the handle acquire a razor-sharp edge. "I'm young and I'm horny."_

_"Randy," Avon corrected. "In Dome England, they'd call it 'randy'."_

_"Whatever. Anyway you say it, I really, really need you." The understatement of the century. He was about to burst from internal pressure._

_Avon's eyes softened. He never could resist being needed. And the fact that Tarrant had crawled up on top of him and was kissing and licking Avon's arse underscored the pilot's desperation. If the Ultra-brite poster child was willing to do that - ah- Avon was distracted as Tarrant bit a series of nibbles into his  
rump._

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Circumnavigating the moons of Avon," Tarrant replied around a mouthful of tender white meat. He reached a hand under and pulled on Avon's cock. "And now I'm exploring Uranus," he continued, dipping his other hand into the lube and prodding Avon up the backside._

_"Ohhh," Avon moaned and planted his elbows in the mattress, arching his back to allow Tarrant easier access. "I'd forgotten."_

_"Forgotten what?" Tarrant muttered, as his fingers slid in and out, faster and faster, while the other hand gripped and milked Avon like a prize Guernsey._

_"Forgotten how much I enjoy ... travel."_

_"With the right tour guide." Tarrant yanked up on Avon's hips, pulling the other man to his knees. He snatched another handful of lube and greased himself with hasty, trembling fingers. He grabbed a double handful of cheek and spread Avon wide. "Now remember - " he panted, "to get the most," he pushed himself into Avon a couple inches, holding still for a second when Avon tensed, "pleasure from your trip," he shoved harder, easing himself deeper into the trembling body beneath his, "you have to relax," his hips lunged, shoving his cock more than halfway in, "and let your guide fill you in." He pulled back slightly, then slammed forward, growling as he finally got to take Avon._

_"Oooooh." Avon began countering Tarrant's thrusts, scooting back on his haunches to increase the force and depth of the penetration, then pulling away as Tarrant withdrew. "That's soooo good."_

_"Better than Ice Cream?" Tarrant asked, rolling and poking Avon's balls the way folks do the Pillsbury Doughboy's belly button._

_"Wouldn't go - that far."_

_The mattress was bouncing wildly, producing squeaks and squeals enough to drown out the activities on the four-poster bed. For that matter, they hadn't heard anything from that quarter of the room for some time. Was that popcorn Avon smelled? He opened his eyes and turned his head. And groaned, but this time not from passion._

_Vila and the girls were there, watching while they ate from a huge box of popcorn. That would have been bad enough, but from somewhere Vila had gotten a director's beret and monocle. That was all he was wearing- that was all any of them were wearing. Vila was sitting in an over-sized director's canvas-seated chair, with Dayna and Cally sharing his lap. Vila lifted one arm from around Dayna's waist to take off his monocle, which was steaming up, and wipe it on Cally's hair. "Keep 'em rolling," Vila said, as his eyes met Avon's, before he screwed the monocle back into place._

_"What?" Tarrant mumbled, lifting his head from the nape of Avon's neck, where he'd been sucking, determined to leave a monster hickey as a momento of this night. He blinked under the bright lights that had somehow appeared all around the bed. Floating vis-cameras bobbed like a flock of demented honeybees, photographing every possible angle that he and Avon possessed - and most of their curves, as well._

_"The cameras," Vila said, helpfully. He leaned forward to check out the monitor banks, and added, "Well, Avon's nuts, too."_

_"Vila, go away," Tarrant growled, and thrust harder, feeling irrationally possessive._

_"After you both come." Vila leaned back. "I got the syndication rights to the video. I want to make sure I don't miss anything."_

_"VilAAAAA!" Avon screamed, as he fought to turn a piercing glare on the thief. Unfortunately, with Tarrant on his back, doing the piercing, Avon couldn't manage it._

_"Shut up," Tarrant said desperately. "I'm almost..." Tarrant gave up on words, concentrating all his energy on holding Avon down while he humped and pumped like a March Hare. He squeezed his handful of Avon hard enough to make the other man get his mind back on business and his arse in gear._

_"Take that. And that. And that," he shouted, "And THAT!" he screeched, hitting a really remarkable C over High C as he convulsed atop the squirming computer tech, enjoying the best orgasm he'd had in years._

_Avon shrieked as Tarrant's grasp turned into a death-grip. He reared up despite the weight on his back, and loosened Tarrant's fingers enough to let Avon come, shooting semen across the bed and into Vila's eye. Vila sputtered, and wiped, and bitched. Avon smiled and said, "That makes it all worthwhile," just before he fainted.  
_

"Well, how was that?" Vila asked, as he helped Tarrant sit up after their latest session. The pilot was beginning to get a bit frazzled around the edges.

"All right, I suppose," Tarrant said grudgingly.

"You want to take a break? I guess you're out of practice."

Tarrant's head lifted and his blue eyes blazed. "I am not out of practice."

"Oh? Who've you had lately?"

Tarrant opened his mouth, then shut it with a snap. Anything he said, Vila would be bound to use against him later. And the truth involved a lot of solo flights of fancy. "A gentleman never tells," he said with dignity.

Vila looked disappointed.

Tarrant got up, stretched, and checked Avon's monitors. "According to these readings, Avon's about ready to come out of it." He glanced at Avon, who watched him with sleepy eyes then yawned and curled back up again.

"I make it at least two more sessions, maybe three," was Vila's opinion.

Tarrant gulped.

Vila noticed. "I could make it easier on you," he said. "If you're getting tired, that is."

"No." Tarrant forced a bright smile. "In fact, I was rather bored with the last one. I had hardly any action at all. Avon spent more time eating ice cream than I did having him."

Vila shrugged. "It's Avon's dreams. I can't help it if he likes ice cream better than you."

"But you can influence him." Vila didn't deny it. "Fine. I want plenty of sex in the next one. Lots of sex. 

Sex. Sex! Sex!!" he was shouting at the end.

"Um. Yeah, I get the message."

Avon prepared, and their own garments loosened (no sense in cutting off circulation), the two settled into their by now accustomed positions, Tarrant sitting next to Avon, with his hands on Avon's temples, and Vila on the other side of the bed, holding Avon's right hand. "Sex, sex, sex?" Vila whispered in Avon's ear, "let's give our pilot some flying lessons."

_Back in the anonymous bedroom. Tarrant was lying on the bed once more. This time he was tied down, spread-eagled. He turned his head. Avon was next to him, but unconscious again, probably drugged, judging from the depth of his respiration. "Damn it, Vila!" He gasped as a sudden shock of cold liquid hit his chest."Aah!" He looked up. A dazzling blonde dressed in an extremely tight red leather dress was standing beside the bed, holding an iced bottle of champagne rather casually. Not surprising, as most of her attention was centered on groping Vila, who was trying to get away from her._

_"Jenna, don't!" Vila said, "Look here, you've spilled the wine."_

_"Then clean it up, Vila." Jenna shook a multi-lashed riding crop, until the leather strands whistled._

_"That's right," Vila said, with a much-put-upon look on his face, "give the Delta all the dirty jobs."_

_"If one drop of that wine is wasted, I'll be very annoyed with you, Vila," Jenna said._

_Vila sighed and appraised the chore before him. "Better be a good vintage," he grunted, getting to his hands and knees. He didn't have a whole lot of room to maneuver, because Dayna was working on stripping Avon's drugged body directly beside Tarrant._

_"No," Tarrant groaned. He didn't like having wine poured on him, but he'd rather lie in a sticky mess than have Vila lick it off. Of course, as he was spread out like a sacrificial offering on the altar of hot sex, there wasn't a hell of a lot he could do to stop it. He shut his eyes and scrunched his face up: picture of a man dreading torture._

_"What? Another Alpha high-brow, too good to let a service-grade touch him?" Vila was no longer playing at resentment. "And don't say it's because I'm a man. You were all set to screw Avon! Sure, Avon, but not me."_

_"It's not that, Vila. It's just that I'm ...," Tarrant opened his eyes, but trailed off. Some secrets were too dangerous to share, even with your most intimate friends- maybe especially with your most intimate friends._

_"You're what? A stuck-up, self-righteous, pain- in- the- nuts. That's what you are." Vila was on a roll._

_"The wine, Vila," Jenna reminded him. "It's beginning to drip." She slapped the leather thongs against her palm. "Will you get to work, or do you need me to chastise you?" She sounded eager at the prospect, eying his nude body as if selecting the softest spots._

_"Wait!" Vila leaned over hastily, and began licking at Tarrant's side, where a dribble of wine was edging toward freedom. "Got it! Hey, this is good stuff." With considerably more enthusiasm, Vila licked. The taste of Tarrant made it even better, Vila admitted. That was one nice thing about Alphas, they were  
usually very clean and tasted very expensive. He glanced at Avon, surreptitiously, under cover of following a trickle nearing Tarrant's armpit. Dayna was struggling to remove Avon's leather trousers. **Probably had 'em surgically fused to his skin** Vila thought. **Out of self-preservation. If we'd have been able to get into his trousers, we'd have killed him with kindness.** Distracted by the thought of the taste of Avon, and wondering if he'd get to compare the two flavors of Alpha currently available, he wasn't paying too much attention to Tarrant's reaction to his ministrations. _

_He'd cleaned up the chest and was heading down for the pool gathered farther down when he noticed the odd noises coming from the head of the bed. Vila looked up. Tarrant was making muffled, high-pitched sounds through his nose, while his lips were clamped between his teeth. The blue eyes looked wild and desperate. He almost felt sorry for Tarrant. Almost. "Getting to you, hmm?"_

_Tarrant unclamped his lips long enough to say, "Vila, please. Don't." His chest heaved as if he'd been running for his life._

_"Sorry," Vila replied, insincerely. "Jenna's the boss."_

_Jenna leaned forward, to look at Tarrant's flushed and perspiring face. "Maybe, Vila..."_

_Vila didn't wait, sensing Jenna was about to order him to let Tarrant off the hook. A little sexual tension never killed anybody. He buried his face in Tarrant's belly, sucking and licking avidly at the last remaining pool of liquid, his tongue dipping deep into Tarrant's navel. Tarrant went wild under him, lunging against the bonds, and suddenly letting loose with a series of the most horrible noises he'd ever heard. It sounded like a starving Targian Warg Strangler, or maybe a homesick Bug-Blatter Beast. He gulped the last drop and sat back, smug. Only to realize that Tarrant hadn't been aroused and that it hadn't been the throes of orgasm he'd heard. "You all right?" he asked. Tarrant was flushed, with round red splotches marring the peaches and cream of his complexion, breathing raggedly, nearly sobbing on the intakes. Vila touched the other man on the side, gently, for reassurance, and was shocked when Tarrant arched and writhed, screeching._

_"What the hell?" Vila was totally at a loss._

_"Get off him, Vila." Jenna's hands were at Vila's shoulder, yanking him back before he could obey. "I'm sorry, Del," she said, softly, untying the ropes around his wrists. "I had no idea, or I never would have done it."_

_"No idea of what?" Vila said, lying in a heap half on top of Avon where Jenna had shoved him. He could have gone the other way, of course, but he had practiced the art of falling where he wanted. And since Dayna had finally peeled off the leather armor, he was able to appreciate Avon's hidden warmth._

_"Why didn't you tell me?" Jenna continued, ignoring Vila - as usual. She moved down to untie Tarrant's ankles, but he sat up and took over, head held low, with his shaggy curls obscuring his face. "Del?" she said, even more softly, bending down trying to meet his face._

_"What's wrong?" Dayna asked. She'd been shocked to silence by Tarrant's response. From where she stood, it didn't look like Vila had done anything painful. In fact, he'd been surprisingly gentle, almost delicate in... oh. She put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Tarrant. You should have said. I used to be ticklish, myself. Until I outgrew it, of course."_

_That got Tarrant's head up. He started to snap, then looked at the worried faces all around him and changed his mind. "My brother used to drive me mad. It got to the point he could just stand across the room, lift his hands and say 'tickle, tickle' and I'd be climbing the walls. And when you tied me down- it was just like one of his games."_

_"Er," Vila asked, hesitantly. "He didn't, you know, er..."_

_Tarrant stared at Vila, puzzled, until he caught the implications. Then he laughed. "No, no, no. Deeta was always a straight arrow. Too morally pure to be believed. He was shocked when I wrote him about the goings-on in the FSA. What really got him was that I enjoyed it." Tarrant grinned. "Which is why I told him. He wasn't ticklish and I had to get back at him, somehow." Now that he wasn't tied down, the stiffness went out of his muscles- well, except for one particular muscle which had slackened under the tickle-torture and was now regaining its confidence and lifting up its head once more._

_"You aren't morally pure, then?" Dayna asked, staring openly at Tarrant's crotch._

_"Actually, not so's you'd notice it, no." Tarrant's smile was blinding. "I like just about anything- except tickling."_

_"That's a relief," Jenna put in. "I was afraid you'd have to sit this one out."_

_"No!" Tarrant looked down at Avon, who was still unconscious, helpless, and very, very nude. "I couldn't pass up a chance at Avon." He turned to Jenna and said, "Or you and Dayna, either."_

_"What about me?" Vila grumped. He had been shoved off Tarrant, pushed to the side, ignored, and in general made to feel like the ugly step-sister._

_Tarrant looked at Vila, really looked at him for the first time. He whistled. "Damn, Vila. So that's why you always wear loose trousers. Talk about hiding your light under a bushel."_

_Dayna followed Tarrant's gaze and snickered. "Bushel is right." She licked her lips._

_"But I've got him first," Jenna said. As she was resting her hand lightly on her butt- her gun butt- at the time, no one argued. She advanced on the thief, eyes narrowed, breasts widening the gap in the cleavage of her zippered dress with each step. "You are a service grade, Vila, so I feel free to tell you that I'm very disappointed with the lack of service around here so far. All these raids, and missions, and never any time off for bad behavior. Where's the BEEF!" she screamed, ripping the zipper all the way down and slithering out of her dress, yanking her boots off with no regard for her pedicure._

_"Ah ha! You are a natural blonde," Vila said. "That's twenty credits Avon owes..." The rest of his smirk was cut off as Jenna launched herself at him like a guided missile. Along the way, her gun dropped to the carpet. "Eeeieumph!" he yelled, as a pair of softly stuffed, satiny breasts covered his face, and a pair of strong, feminine arms pulled him directly into the valley between._

_"Suck!" Jenna ordered. She sighed and arched her back as Vila obeyed. Her arms loosened, allowing him the freedom to lick along one melon-round globe before fastening onto its nipple. "Ah. Much, much better," she whispered, as his hands crept between her thighs._

_Dayna looked at Avon and grinned wickedly, putting a finger to his lips."Later," she promised, then turned to Tarrant. "I feel guilty about what happened to you, Tarrant. I should have stopped Vila. He's such a beast. How can I ever make it up to you?" she asked, sliding open her jumpsuit and reaching a hand in to caress her firm, young breasts._

_"I'm sure you can think of something," Tarrant answered, voice dropping an octave as his arousal grew. He reached out to help her get out of the tight-fitting suit. He'd always admired the way that gray fabric clung to her curves and managed to resist tearing it off of her in shreds. He felt like he was unwrapping a mouthwateringly delicious Easter rabbit- all that creamy milk chocolate and all for him. For once, he wouldn't have to share with Deeta. Not the ears, and most especially not the tail. He pushed Avon over to the left, and deposited Dayna on the bed beside him._

_Vila pushed Avon over to the right, and deposited Jenna on the bed on Avon's other side. Semi-conscious, Avon grunted, and curled up, sticking one thumb into his mouth. All four of his crewmates stopped what they were doing to watch. Avon sucked, put his other hand down - they held their breath, collectively - and he held onto his knees. The collective breath whooshed out in a sigh of disappointment._

_Still, they had each other. And Avon made a nice, warm bolster between the two couples coupling, even though that meant there was that much less room to maneuver. It didn't occur to anyone to dump Avon onto the carpet. It added a touch of spice, having their stern, demanding, unrelentingly sensual comrade sleeping like a babe in the midst of their orgy._

_Vila's fingers slid into Jenna's golden blonde curls, parting the waves and working his way into the moist, pink folds between her soft, creamy-skinned legs. She responded with a gasp, flinging her legs as wide as she could without falling off the bed. In turn she found his center, and ran her fingers nimbly up his shaft, stroking it, while she grasped the heavy balls with her other hand, massaging expertly. The smuggler had quick hands, as quick as the thief's. They were well matched in their efforts to tease their partner into total abandonment._

_On the other side of Avon, the younger crew members weren't interested in endurance contests. Dayna wrapped her long legs around Tarrant's slim hips and urged him on. He hesitated. "Are you sure you're ready?"_

_"Been ready for years, Del. Now!" she growled, digging her sharp, scarlet nails into his lower back. "Before I do something we'll both regret."_

_"I already regret it," Tarrant said, wincing. He leaned forward to nip at her earlobe, hard, to repay her._

_She yelped and pulled her claws in, suddenly eying him with respect."I didn't know you had it in you, Del," she whispered, running her hands up his sides, smoothing over the tiny wounds she'd inflicted. "Daddy always told me no true gentleman would ever be rough with a lady."_

_Tarrant arched an eyebrow. "Your father was right. Unless, of course, the lady likes it rough?"_

_Dayna's eyes glistened with excitement. "And if she does?"_

_"Then," Tarrant said into her ear, covering her with his entire body, "she has it in her."_

_"Oooh. Yes, Del," Dayna crooned, feeling the stiff, pulsing warmth pressed against her thighs. She lifted her knees to either side, capturing him between them. "I want it in me." She caught at his cock, this time careful to keep her nails away from the tender skin. "All of it," she moaned. "In me. Now. Now!"_

_"And how can a gentleman turn down such a lovely lady's request." Tarrant had to struggle for composure. With Jenna and Vila writhing and groaning scant inches away, and Dayna clutching at his more than scant inches, he was over-stimulated. Seeking a mental break, he glanced at Avon, still sleeping innocently beside him, and deliberately imagined Avon's reactions to this scene. Visions of impromptu laser-surgery and Avon's gleaming teeth as the older man went into one of his patented, 'I'm crazy enough to do anything' smiles cooled his ardor sufficiently for him to take himself in hand. Literally, his fingers pressing over Dayna's as they both guided him into her._

_"Lovely," Dayna purred, her hips sliding up to ease the angle of entry for him._

_Even as he took advantage of that, he thought about it. Dayna knew too much, and this was too easy for her. "You're not a virgin," he said, unreasonably peeved. He knew it was unreasonable, but still, he had somehow gotten the impression that he was going to get a first-timer in this dream. He enjoyed teaching the joys of sex to a neophyte. He was born to be a leader, and had precious little opportunity to do so of late._

_"Nope," she replied, cheerfully. "Are you?"_

_"No." He began thrusting, hard. On the other hand, he was glad that he wouldn't have to hold back. It had been a long time and his self-control had been strained of late. His height was matched by a correspondingly generous endowment in another area and he really felt he needed more social activity than most men. He sometimes wondered about the rumor similarly linking a large nose with a large ... he glanced once more at Avon, who had conveniently uncurled slightly so that his crotch was exposed. Yes, it was true. Very nice._

_Claws again. "Del. Avon later. Me now!" Dayna was not one to be denied or put second._

_"Nag, nag, nag," he muttered. He kissed her. It felt very good, as her lips were as agile and talented as the rest of her. It also made it impossible for her to talk. Her hands roved, first kneading his shoulders, then his waist, then his rump, grabbing him and pulling him deep._

_"Yearrgh!" he yelled as she clenched her internal muscles at the same time she got a good grip on his balls. He stiffened, pulled away from her grasp for an instant, then pounded back in as he came in great, overwhelming waves of ecstasy. He collapsed, panting, glad to have survived Dayna. Then he had a nasty thought. If he hadn't held out long enough, a frustrated weapons expert was not a pretty sight. He peeled one eyelid open. Dayna was smiling, a smug, self-satisfied grin. That was a relief._

_She pushed at him and he managed to get off of her, then crumpled back on his belly after she left the bed. She laughed and stretched, pulling her arms far over her head, then swaying from side to side to work out the kinks- well, some of them. "I'm going for a shower," she announced. "Keep the bed warm."_

_Tarrant rolled over to stare at Avon. Carefully, he lowered an arm over Avon's shoulder. Avon immediately moved in closer, snuggling under Tarrant's chin, making a soft, sighing noise, not quite language, but unmistakably registering pleasure. It was odd, Tarrant thought, to be cuddling the galaxy's most wanted terrorist while he sucks his thumb. On the other side of Avon, things were finally heating up as Vila's patience gave out._

_"You win," Vila shrieked._

_"I always do," Jenna purred._

_Tarrant levered himself up on his elbows to watch. Avon made another noise, this one sounding like a complaint as the warm body receded out of reach. Absentmindedly, Tarrant pulled Avon up to his chest. Avon abandoned his own thumb when his mouth brushed Tarrant's nipple. It felt good, so Tarrant let him continue to suckle. He stroked Avon's shoulder while he watched Vila and Jenna. In a little while he would be able to show Avon a thing or two. He hoped that Avon would still be drugged and pliable at the time._

_Jenna mounted Vila, sitting astride the gasping man, taking his erection into herself in one smooth move._

_"Now, who's the boss, Vila?" She asked as she slid up and down slightly._

_"You are! You are!" Vila surged upward, lifting her into the air. "You win. I'll do anything! Anything!"_

_"That's my Vila. I like a man who knows his place." Jenna tightened her leg muscles and began rocking._

_"OOOOOOH." Vila clutched wildly at the sides of the bed. One flailing arm slapped against Avon and clamped on._

_Avon whimpered, then calmed when Tarrant began rubbing Avon's penis. "Better warm up, Avon. You know, you should always warm up before you exercise. And I'm going to give you a work-out you won't forget," he growled in Avon's ear. Avon shivered and allowed himself to be manipulated, merely sucking harder at Tarrant's tit as Jenna's riding brought her arse against his back. Up and down, slick and hot, against him. Even in his present state, he was not totally unaware of the sensual activities taking place over, beside and around him._

_"Vila! Ah, Oh, OOH, WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG, BAD DELTA!" Jenna yelled, and pounded, sending the whole mattress through convulsions as she bounced up and down with Vila's eager cooperation. "NOT THIS LITTLE PIGGY!" she screamed, and sat bolt upright, eyes practically glowing. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she squealed, drowning out Vila's nearly as high-pitched screeches. She fell forward. "Mmm, Mmm, Good," she murmured._

_Vila tried to move, but Jenna lifted her head from his chest to glare. "Not yet." She clamped down on him and rotated her hips, moaning, working Vila's cock around to hit her pleasure spot again. And again. And again. And again. She writhed on top of him, despite his increasingly desperate pleading, until he  
finally went limp. Then she released him and said, "Thanks." She got up. "I think I'll go join Dayna in that shower." She turned to grin at Vila. "But I'll be back."_

_Vila lay gasping and bug-eyed, totally wiped out for several minutes. Tarrant watched, mildly interested to see that Vila kept breathing. Although if it came down to mouth-to-mouth, he would probably call Dayna and Jenna for help._

_"Tarrant," Vila said finally, in a bare whisper._

_"Yes?" Tarrant was distracted as Avon's warmth was beginning to revive his interest._

_"Am I dead?"_

_"What, you think you've gone to heaven?"_

_"No, I just think Jenna killed me. Part of me, anyway. " Vila looked down at himself, mournfully. "She wore it out."_

_Tarrant chuckled. "Would you like to swap her for Dayna?"_

_Vila shuddered. He dragged himself over to curl up behind Avon, reaching over to grasp Tarrant's arms. "I'd die. These women are killers, I always knew it. I just didn't know what weapons they used."The three men huddled together, two of them anticipating the future with mingled excitement and stark, staring terror. Avon sucked tit, and was obliviously content in their arms. They could hear, faintly, the sound of running water, accompanied by female voices. The voices were moaning in synch. Vila and Tarrant exchanged worried glances. "I think we've created a pair of monsters," Tarrant said._

_The water noise stopped- a very long time later. A few minutes after that, Jenna and Dayna pranced out, bright as buttons and fresh as daisies, and still naked as jaybirds. "That was refreshing," Jenna announced, reaching for Vila. Vila fainted. Jenna shrugged, picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. "There's a aid station nearby," she told Dayna. "In case Tarrant gives out on you."_

_"What about Avon?" Dayna asked._

_Jenna glanced at him. He was still sucking Tarrant, but with his thumb squeezed in on the side of his mouth. "I'm not much for that type myself. Besides, Tarrant's been looking forward to him for a long time." She continued toward the door. "Have fun."_

_Dayna shrugged and sat down on the bed. She grinned suddenly. "You're in for a treat, Tarrant." She leaned over and cooed in his ear, "I know who's a vir-gin," in a sing-song, schoolyard mocking tone. "Ol' black leather and studs, himself."_

_Tarrant's eyes widened. Avon was still sucking like an infant, but the constant pressure and rubbing from both sides seemed to have caused an unconscious, and highly adult, reaction. That was one big baby._

_Tarrant licked his lips and contemplated sucking something himself. He compromised by rubbing his hand over Avon's arse. "You mean with men," he said. Even that was hard to believe. After all, Avon was drop-dead gorgeous, and he'd been in prison, and at least four months on a cramped prison ship accompanied by desperate men, the lowest, most depraved scum of the galaxy. Vila had told Tarrant how close he'd gotten to Gan for protection, and how Avon was too proud, or too ignorant, to seek a protector. Tarrant knew he'd have been raped in that situation, and he didn't put out half the 'screw me' vibes that Avon did._

_"No," Dayna said, "well, yes, that too." She shook a finger at Tarrant. "You think I'm too young and innocent to know anything. I have my sources." She put her hands on her hips and stuck out her tongue._

_"What about Anna? Avon loved her, you can't tell me he didn't."_

_"Oh, he loved her, all right. He just never made love to her. She was the Federation's top agent, and he was this shy, awkward techie with no social position, no fashion sense, and a wild scheme to rob a bank. She wouldn't touch him even as an assignment. She drugged him and hypnotized him to think they were lovers, so he'd tell her all the secrets even the hypnosis couldn't get out of him." Dayna's eyes went soft. "Poor thing. I never felt quite the same about him after Orac told me."_

_"Orac wouldn't give you the right time of day," Tarrant said._

_"Actually, I think Orac liked telling juicy gossip, especially when it was mad at Avon at the time."_

_"Still, someone in prison..."_

_Dayna shook her head. "Nope. Vila spread a rumor that Avon had a social disease that deformed your nose. He even bribed a guard in records to put a tiny little nose on Avon's arrest vid. Vila showed it to everyone. He kept a copy and showed it to me once when he was drunk." She chuckled. "Avon never knew why no one would touch him or even talk to him. He thought it was because he was an Alpha."_

_Tarrant shook his head. "Avon's a virgin? A totally untouched, pure innocent? Never had anybody, never been had by anybody?"_

_Dayna nodded at appropriate intervals. "He was a child prodigy. He was virtually imprisoned in an ultra-high-security institution from the time he was five years old until they thought he was burned out, at twenty-nine. Then they just turned him loose. Orac showed me schematics of the institution. They had security monitors everywhere. They thought sex interferes with logic and efficiency, so they didn't allow it. Except for hygienic masturbation under a doctor's orders, at prescribed intervals to collect sperm for their breeding programs."_

_"But after that..."_

_"He hadn't any social training. He doesn't know how to behave around people, let alone seduce a woman. He watched a lot of porno-vids, Orac said. It had the vid-rental records. Avon mostly liked male _male, and male_ dominant female scripts. I guess he felt more comfortable with a passive role."_

_"And Anna knew all this."_

_"Of course. The institute kept detailed records. They even had studies showing what percentage of their 'graduates' wound up rebels or criminals. He was still a highly competent technician, so they didn't want to waste him, but he was listed as a security risk from the second they kicked him out."_

_"That's the part I don't understand." Tarrant shook his head. "They said he'd burned out? I've seen some of the things he's invented, some of the things he's designed. They're not the work of a 'competent technician'."_

_"Of course not. He is a genius. Enough to fool their testing machines, and psychologists. I'm just surprised it took him twenty-four years to do it. Then again." She looked thoughtful. "Since it was the only life he knew, it must have taken a lot of courage to give it up without knowing what life on the outside was like."_

_"Avon's never been a coward," Tarrant said. He stroked Avon's shoulder, absently, while he considered his options. "Poor pitiful bastard."_

_"Uh, oh." Dayna rolled away from the bed, leaping for her gun._

_"What?" Tarrant sat up, to see what had happened, instinctively covering Avon with his body against any threat. They might not yet be lovers, but Dayna's story had roused his knight errant soul. Although Avon made an unlikely princess in an ivory tower._

_"Let go of me!" said the un-princess in a voice that would have shriveled the ivy growing on any tower._

_"Oh, shit," Tarrant said in a very small voice, looking down at an irate Avon. "I thought you were still out."_

_"What's the matter? Didn't finish raping me?" Avon's fists were bunched, his teeth showing in a snarl. "That's too damn bad."_

_"Nobody raped you," Tarrant said, holding himself very, very still. He had the feeling he was sitting on a hornet's nest. "What do you think happened?"_

_Avon wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, harshly, while staring at the moist, rosy circle of Tarrant's nearest nipple. "You drugged me, and you've been amusing yourself with my body. I hope it was worth dying for."_

_Dayna said, "Nobody's dying." She was holding her gun on Avon, and tipped it now in warning when he moved as if to leave the bed. "How much did you hear?"_

_"Quite a bit," Avon admitted, settling reluctantly back in place. He clutched at the bed covers as if he would have liked to hide his nakedness, but refused to admit his vulnerability. "Too much." He glared. "Enough to reprogram Orac with a laser. And more than enough to leave the whole lot of you to screw yourselves to death."_

_Dayna stared at Avon. Suddenly her mouth tightened. She stooped, without taking her eyes off Avon, or letting her gun waver. Unerringly, she picked up the slender leather whip Jenna had dropped on the floor earlier. "Tarrant, tie him up." She tossed the whip at Tarrant, who let it land on his lap without trying to catch it._

_"Dayna!" Tarrant's eyes were wide. "No. Let him go."_

_She shook her head. "Orac talked a lot about you, Avon. He says you're frustrated, and lonely and you need this."_

_"My computer advises my crew to rape me?" Avon shook his head. "I think I'll reprogram it with an explosive charge."_

_"I think Orac is right," Dayna said. "You want sex, but you don't want to be embarrassed by doing anything wrong or awkward. You'd rather die a virgin than fumble around like a spotty teenager."_

_Avon flushed. "Well, now that you've finished analyzing me, I'll take my leave. You two can play whatever dirty little bondage games you like with each other."_

_Dayna shook her head again. "Think of it, Avon. Tarrant is younger and stronger than you. I have a gun on you. What can you do? It isn't your fault, there isn't anything you've done wrong. You're just so sexy and desirable that we can't resist you. Can't resist tying you down, and loving you. Loving you because  
you're so damn hot, so full of juices just aching to burst out after all the years you've kept yourself bottled up."_

_Avon's flush drained, leaving him ghost white, then returned in a rush, even brighter than before. His cock twitchedand began to rise. He dropped his hands into his lap in a futile effort to cover his reaction, but Dayna's headshake stopped him._

_"See? You like the idea, don't you? You need it. Need us. Don't worry, Avon," Dayna purred, "Tarrant knows what to do. It won't be clumsy or disgusting and no one will ever call you names or even mention this again. Unless you do. We only want to love you. To make you happy. To let you become the man you really are."_

_Avon said, "No, it's wrong. It's... weak, and shameful." He lowered his head. "If it was only you, Dayna..."_

_"Then you wouldn't do it," Dayna replied. "You'd have all sorts of logical excuses and you wouldn't do it. I'm not giving you a choice. And none for you, either, Tarrant." The gun lifted. "Tie him up, now."_

_"I don't feel right about this, Dayna. He's not ready. I might hurt him. Psychologically, I mean."_

_"Tie him up, first. Then we'll do a little test. If Avon doesn't respond to you, I'll let you both go."_

_"All right." Tarrant picked up the whip. "Um, Avon?" he said._

_Avon glared, then held out his hand. "Fine. You'll see I want no part of this."_

_Tarrant broke the thong ends of the whip into separate strands of leather and tied Avon to the bed, looping his hands and feet to the bedposts in a spread-eagled pose on his back. Avon stared defiantly at both his young crew members when that was done._

_"There. See," he said. "No reaction. My subconscious doesn't like this any more than I do." He yanked at the cords. "Enough of this idiocy."_

_"Oh, but this isn't the test." Dayna pointed her gun at Tarrant. "There's a box on the dresser. Get it."_

_Tarrant obeyed, but flinched when he looked into the box. "You're kidding."_

_"No. Put them on him." Dayna's spread her legs, getting a double-handed grip on her gun. "This is only a drug-shot, but you won't like it if I use it, Tarrant. Because then I'll go get Vila to do Avon."_

_"No!" Tarrant burst out. "I'll do it." Trembling, his hands sorted out various items, and began laying them on the bed beside Avon. "Let me explain them, at least."_

_"All right."_

_"Avon, this is a cockring. It fits around your genitals. Like so." As delicately as a surgeon, Tarrant lifted Avon's cock and balls and carefully slipped the glove-soft leather in place,snapping it on securely.Avon turned his head aside, refusing to look as his body turned traitor, his cock stiffening at Tarrant's words even before the seductive touch of leather."These are nipple clamps." Tarrant held up a pair of sparkling silver ornaments, ending in dangling rings. "The degree of tightness can be adjusted to produce the maximum sensation." He rubbed Avon's chest, then attached the clamps, tightening them. He tugged on the rings to test the security of the fit. Avon moaned. "Yes. It feels good, doesn't it?" he said softly._

_He fished in the box and came up with matching silvery chains, icy cold as he trailed them along Avon's stomach, the muscles rippling in reaction. "This chain links the clamps by their rings." He did so as he said it. "And then this long chain goes down- all the way down," he said, paying out line as he slowly returned to Avon's cock, which was rising with every word and every touch, "to here." And he clipped the chain onto a corresponding silver loop on top of the leather cockring. He had to lift Avon's penis slightly to make the connection, and Avon made another muffled noise."Yes. You begin to understand? Confinement, control, discipline. That's what this is all about." He leaned over and kissed Avon's neck. "Not pain, not humiliation. Trust me."_

_"I- don't want..."_

_"Don't want what?" Tarrant licked and nibbled on the side of Avon's neck. "Tell me."_

_Avon's fists clenched. "I don't want to be... used."_

_"Machines are used. Things are used. You're a man. A man I've wanted to love for a very long time. I'll make it good for you, Avon. And when I'm done, maybe you'll feel like being on top, being in control. But you don't want that now, do you? Not really." Tarrant's lips grazed the side of Avon's chin. Helplessly, Avon turned into the kiss, accepting the homage, the sweet caress of the other man's power over him. The power of love._

_"No," Avon admitted. "I don't want to be on top. Not now." His muscles tightened, drawing his bonds tight._

_"But..." Confused and frightened, he tossed his head. "I don't..."  
"Shh. It'll be all right."_

_Avon turned to look at Dayna who was watching with fascination. "Please. No." He blushed again._

_"You want me to go?" Dayna asked._

_"Please," Avon whispered._

_Dayna nodded. "All right. This time, it's boys' night out._

_But once Tarrant has you loosened up, I hope you'll think about me. Some day, anyway." Dayna nodded curtly to Tarrant, picked up her clothes and strode out of the room._

_"She's going to walk around in public like that?" Avon said, envious of Dayna's nonchalant nudity._

_Tarrant grinned. "That's our Dayna."_

_Avon looked up at Tarrant. "How can you want me, when you could have her? She's young, beautiful, and..."_

_Tarrant laid a finger across Avon's lips, silencing him. "I want you. I've always wanted you. Just let me show you how beautiful you are." He rummaged in the box, pulling out another handful of black leather. "This goes around your bum." He slipped his hands beneath Avon, pulling the leather around. "Feel how it separates your cheeks? Makes you open, vulnerable?"_

_Avon nodded, running his tongue around suddenly dry lips. Tarrant's hands stroked around the leather, tracing the crack between Avon's buttocks. "We'll get to that in a little while," he promised, slowly pulling his hands back. Avon whimpered, and wriggled, trying to follow the hands. "Hmm." Tarrant delved in the box, and paused. Avon craned to see what new delight Tarrant had uncovered. "This will make it easier." He clipped two strong, thick elastic cords to the waistband of the cheek separator, then went down to Avon's feet. He untied each ankle, kissed the insteps, then wrapped the other end of the cord around each ankle. The resistance pulled Avon's feet back toward his rump. He tried, but couldn't stretch out for more than a few seconds._

_"That's right," Tarrant said, when Avon stopped struggling and let the elastic tug him into a new position, legs lifted and knees apart, exposing his rump."Comfortable?"_

_Avon tossed his head, but didn't reply. He shuddered as Tarrant leaned over him, the younger man's damp cockhead tracing lines of fire along his side, before his loving tormentor returned to delve within the box. "You know, Dayna brought quite a variety of toys. If you don't give me any idea what you like, I may just use them all on you." Tarrant picked up the box and turned it upside down, letting its contents rain down on Avon. "Hmm. Still in the original packaging. Let's see. Anal Invader, Love Beads, Big E. Z. ..."_

_Avon stared at the huge replica cock and flinched. "No."_

_"Ah, so you do know what you don't want. That's good." Tarrant tossed the enormous dildo back in the box. "Sir Knobby?"_

_Avon shook his head mutely. This dildo resembled a mace. Granted it was a soft plastic, he still didn't like the look of it._

_"Blindfold? Vibrators?" Tarrant examined each item, while covertly watching Avon's reactions before packing it away again._

_Although he didn't want to admit it, Avon was becoming progressively more excited and his body reflected that excitement._

_Tarrant continued taking inventory, casually letting his hands caress Avon as he retrieved the scattered sex toys. "Jelly Thruster. Twister. Adonis Pouch. Le Pump. Oh, this might be nice." Tarrant slipped an odd rubbery device onto his right hand. It fit smoothly over palm and back, leaving all the fingers uncovered except for the middle finger which now stretched an inch beyond the others, sprouting a miniature cock complete with ridges, veins and warty protrusions. He found a jar of lubricant and coated the obscene appendage. "This is a Love Glove." He approached Avon, middle finger glistening._

_Avon crawled back toward the head of the bed, shaking his head. "I don't... I'm not sure about this." But his words were weak, and he licked his lips as he stared at Tarrant's hand, imagining that thing exploring his body._

_Tarrant frowned. "I see I allowed you too much freedom. You aren't in charge here. I'll tell you when you can move." He picked up a pair of black double cuffs made of some soft, fuzzy material. "These are Thigh Cuffs." He wrapped the larger of each pair of bands around Avon's thighs, letting the smaller loop dangle. "Now." He stared into Avon's eyes. "I'm going to strap your hands down. You'll be totally at my mercy. If you really don't want this, then now's the time to tell me. Because once I start, I'm not going to be listening to you." He smiled. "I don't think I'll be able to listen to you." His penis was fully erect, and quivering._

_Avon opened his mouth to say, 'no, I don't want this', but nothing came out. He tried again, but his throat seized up. Inside his skull he was screaming wild  
protests, but none of it emerged._

_"It's all right. Calm down. Take a deep breath."_

_Avon obeyed, and found his voice had returned. "Tarrant." He shut his eyes. "Do it," he choked out before he lost his voice again._

_"Yes." Tarrant sounded breathy, as if he too were having difficulty speaking. "Give me your hand." He untied the leather holding Avon's right wrist to the headboard."Such clever hands." Tarrant traced the knuckles and tendons, then turned Avon's hand over, following the lines there. "A long life-line. And here." He bent close to nip, making Avon jump in surprise. "That's the mound of Venus. It shows your love-life has been neglected." He kissed the palm. "Criminal. Wasting a natural resource. You are so damn beautiful. Those eyes- those lips..." He paused to kiss the lips in question, but Avon turned his head aside._

_"Humph." Avon glowered._

_"What? A few pretty words upset you? Would you prefer poetry? 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Nay, thou art more temperate, and more fair'." Tarrant's grin was blinding._

_"Am I?" Avon couldn't stop the silly grin he felt stretching his own lips in response to Tarrant's mood. None of his porn-vids portrayed a domination session like this._

_"Well, not exactly. Unless by temperate, you mean temperamental."_

_"And am I fair?"_

_"Not particularly. But, that's all right. You can be as unfair as you like, later. Blame me for everything." As he spoke Tarrant pulled Avon's hand down to his side, and strapped it into the loop of the thigh cuff. "After all, you are helpless, aren't you?"_

_"Yes," Avon admitted. He looked down along his body's length. His cock was full and pulsing, and it had barely been touched. Masturbation was never like this. That was work. Dredge up an imaginary scene, squeeze and pull and probe himself until, sometimes, he managed an orgasm before he wearied of the whole mess. It was sweaty drudgery, done strictly to appease the animal within. He was always vaguely disgusted with himself at the end of a session, at the images he'd had to conjure up, the fantasies he'd had to invoke, in order to get a reaction. Tarrant's lustful gaze had done more to rouse him than any amount of self-induced friction ever had. He barely noticed as his other hand was transferred into a thigh loop._

_"Ah. That does it." Tarrant got off the bed and stepped back, pacing around to judge Avon with a connoisseur's eye. He came back and picked up the box of toys, taking a whip from it before depositing it on the floor. "Now, you mind your manners." Playfully he shook out the short, soft lashes of the rubber-handled whip._

_"Or you'll use that on me?" Avon's voice was pure seduction._

_"Or I won't." Tarrant brushed the lashes over Avon's groin, creating dozens of silken caresses, like eager tongues lapping at his center._

_Avon arched. "Oh." He tried to roll onto his side, away from the whip. That was too stimulating, and too easy. He wanted to stretch this out._

_"I didn't say you could do that." A heavy hand fell on Avon's shoulder, twisting him back into place. "You are to do as I say. Only as I say." Tarrant's eyes met Avon's, blue fire burning behind that suddenly stern face._

_Avon whimpered. He was shaking, shaking all over, uncontrollably, and he didn't even know why._

_Tarrant's face softened. "I know what I'm doing. It will be all right." He pressed Avon's back to the bed and settled himself on top, his hard cock pressing between Avon's thighs. "I'm getting tired of all thisfooling around," he announced, flinging the whip across the room, in mock anger. He rubbed his right hand against Avon's arse, the rubbery nubs on the Love Glove pressing against the straps that kept Avon spread. Avon's eyes widened, but he made no protest as Tarrant slipped his middle finger into him. "I'm your master. I order. You obey." The slick rubber penetrated deeper. "Don't you?"_

_"Yes," Avon replied, gasping as the internal stimulation increased. He writhed, fingers scrabbling at his thighs as he fought for self-control. But Tarrant didn't want that. His other hand found the chain connecting Avon's cock and nipples, and began tugging on it, yanking cock up and tits out at the same time._

_"I want you hot. I want you on fire." He lowered his head and bit at Avon's neck, not quite hard enough to break the skin._

_"Yes," Avon whispered, stretching his neck for more. "Fire. I feel it." Involuntarily, his arms jerked, and his legs twitched, but the bindings held. He could fight, but he'd never get free. Never? The idea terrified him and he began fighting in earnest. The bindings were gentle, with no harsh edges to abrade skin. He resented that, resented the tenderness and delicacy they represented, resented Dayna's solicitous concern and most of all, resented Tarrant's kindness. His pity? "No," he yelled as the bindings opened, his frantic  
movements having exceeded their in-built safety parameters. He tore his hands free, then his ankles, and threw Tarrant off. He scrambled clear of the tangled bedding, falling to his knees beside the bed._

_"Avon!" Tarrant leaned over the bed. "What's the matter with you? Damn it, you wanted it! You know you did."_

_Avon showed his teeth in a snarl. "I'm not such a total innocent I can't recognize a mercy fuck when I see one."_

_"Gods, give me strength." Tarrant drew a deep breath. "What mercy fuck?" He waved at his groin, and his wildly waving cock. "Does this look like mercy to you? You idiot. I want to screw you, I'm dying to screw you."_

_"Then why didn't you do it already?" Avon yelled back. He knew he looked ridiculous, stark naked and harnessed like a seeing-eye dog, and that made him even more angry. He'd always had his dignity, at least._

_"Because you're a God-Damn virgin! I didn't want your first experience to turn you off sex forever. What did you want me to do, rape you?"_

_Avon didn't answer, but flushed, as one of his favorite fantasies suddenly filled his mind. Tarrant was younger than him and stronger. Naturally, he had thought about it._

_"Oh, all right. You could have said so," Tarrant remarked in a much milder tone as he took advantage of Avon's distraction to dive off the bed, landing directly atop and winding the other man. He grabbed Avon's knees and pulled them up and open. "Better hope I used enough lube, or you won't be sitting easy for a week." Without further preparation, he mounted Avon, and pushed in. Hard._

_Avon yelped. "Ow!"_

_"Shut up," Tarrant growled. "And take it like a man." He thrust even harder, sheathing himself in suddenly yielding flesh. He scrabbled at Avon desperately, getting a good grip on the leather straps around Avon's waist._

_"Ah." Avon's eyes rolled and he gasped for breath. He wrapped his legs around Tarrant, pumping his hips up and down, trying to get in tune with the other man's rhythm. He hadn't realized just how big Tarrant was until that thick lump of meat was stretching his guts, filling him near to splitting. It was more than he could stand- and it was magnificent. His own cock was trapped between their bodies, throbbing until he was sure it would burst. Only the cock ring wouldn't permit that, any more than Tarrant would permit him to escape his impalement._

_"That's good," Tarrant muttered, as his hips jerked rapidly, to and fro, forcing himself into Avon's tight arse. He pulled hard on the straps dividing Avon's cheeks, and plunged in, time and again, all the way to his balls, slapping against soft buttocks with meaty butcher-shop noises. He froze suddenly, eyes wide, and mouth open in an 'O' of sheer astonishment, and came, hips juddering in rapid-fire thrusts, as he emptied his balls, filling Avon with hot spurts of thick juice."Whoo." Tarrant fell forward, gulping air. But he didn't forget Avon, who was still hard and crying with the pain of delayed fulfillment. He stripped off the cock ring and squeezed Avon's balls firmly._

_Avon yelled, and arched, shooting off a fine streamer of semen, white jets against the pale cream of Tarrant's chest dripping back to lace his own belly. He collapsed, panting._

_Tarrant pulled out and lay on his back on the carpet next to Avon. "Well, was that mercy?"_

_Avon's arms were leaden, like the rest of him, or he would have punched Tarrant's lights out. "No."_

_"Fine." Tarrant levered himself up and stared down at Avon. "Now roll over and we'll do it again."_

_"You can't," Avon protested, although a quick peek downward indicated that he could._

_"Yes I can." He leaned forward to whisper into Avon's ear. "Did you hear about that shipment of aphrodisiac that was stolen from a Federation genetics project? Keeps you up for five days."_

_"You didn't." Avon felt a certain interest below his own belt line- or what should have been a belt line._

_"I didn't. Vila did. I made him give me some, of course. And I bribed him to put it in your drink, today." He grinned. "I was thinking ahead."_

_"But not with that head." Avon's hand lifted on its own to run through Tarrant's curly nape, pulling him in for a deep, satisfying kiss. "And not on the floor. Not again."_

_Tarrant rose and pulled Avon to his feet. "Perfectly good bed here." He patted Avon on the arse. "How's the sit-upon?"_

_Avon winced, then smiled. "Use more lube this time." He dove headfirst for the bed, wriggling his arse in invitation._

_Tarrant took off the Love Glove, tossing it over his shoulder and grabbed the jar of lube. Dayna was such a thoughtful girl- she'd gotten the two-liter economy size jar. Whistling cheerfully, he yanked Avon to his knees and settled into place behind him. A thick gob between Avon's cheeks, a slop or two on his own penis, and they were ready for business. "Steady," he warned as he fitted himself back into that delightfully tight hole and Avon pushed back eagerly to meet him, "remember, I'm raping you. Scream a little, can you?"_

_"Oh. Oh. OooooooHhhh."_

_"That's better." Tarrant clutched Avon's shoulders and rode the other for all he was worth. "Virgin arse. Love it."_

_"What?" Avon asked, distracted even further by Tarrant slipping a hand down to fondle Avon's balls._

_"Ah," Tarrant moaned as Avon contracted around him. "You tight-arsed bastard," he said fondly._

_"You big prick," Avon replied in kind._

_"And don't let anyone let you different." Tarrant pumped hard. Avon fitted very neatly under him, sturdy enough to support his weight and just long enough in the torso to make it convenient to bite him on the back of the neck. Avon jumped and tightened when he did that, so he did it again._

_"Tarrant?" Avon sounded thoughtful, which annoyed Tarrant. He oughtn't to be thinking at all, not with the lovely present Tarrant was shoving up his arse._

_"What?" he grumbled._

_"If you took that ... oooh,...drug, then why were you and Vila soooooo, ah, AH, oooh... shagged out?"_

_"You heard that?"_

_"Wasn't entirely... ahh... knocked out."_

_"Hmm." Tarrant humped for several minutes, trying to decide how best to phrase his answer. "We weren't." "You were ... uh... faking it?"_

_"Um." Tarrant pumped Avon's cock several times, until Avon was on his toes, making odd noises through his nose. But he didn't forget the conversation._

_"Well?" Avon said when he could steal enough oxygen._

_"Yes. Vila wanted Jenna. (Gasp) I wanted you. She's gotten...ooh, Yes!... a big surprise by now."_

_"Not as big as I got," Avon muttered, wriggling happily on Tarrant's organ, playing a merry tune._

_"Shut up and hump," Tarrant advised, grabbing a handful of cheek on either side to hold Avon steady as he straddled the lovely pale rump beneath him._

_"Or?"_

_"I'll go home and take... my toys with me."_

_"No, you won't." Avon tightened his arse until Tarrant screamed with pleasure._

_"They're mine now." He reached a hand back to pat the balls resting against his backside._

_"Ohhhh." Tarrant arched, and came again. He fell onto Avon's back bonelessly, like a bird shot from the sky._

_"Get back to work," Avon growled. Since he needed his hands for support, he shook Tarrant with his entire body._

_"Slavedriver," Tarrant moaned._

_"Damn it, you're supposed to be dominating me."_

_Tarrant sighed, and gathered himself for another run for the roses. "Keep this up and I'll get Big E.Z. for you."_

_"Keep that up and we won't need it."_

_"Greedy little bastard." Tarrant lifted himself up. After a few jerky moments, he found his stride again._

_"Yes. Bear that in mind. And bear down harder there, will you?"_

_"Bitch. Bitch. Bitch," Tarrant said in time to his thrusts. He was grinning from ear to ear. "That's the trouble with virgins."_

_"What?" Avon moaned, swaying._

_"They never know when to quit."_

_"That's... ah... oooooh...not true," Avon said, sliding back and forth under Tarrant with the speed of a greased eel._

_"ErrrrrAghh!" Tarrant yelled, as orgasm wrung him out for what he was sure had to be the final time. That is, if he ever hoped to use his cock for anything other than a waterspout in future._

_Avon came right after him and lay flattened under him, breathing heavily, for several minutes before he said, "We quit when we're done. See?"  
_

"My God." Tarrant fell off the chair and lay gasping, half under Avon's cot. Vila was a wadded-up lump on the other side. After several minutes went by, Tarrant got the strength to crawl over to Vila and shake him back to consciousness. "Vila!"

"What!" Vila put up his hands and cringed at the same time. He backed up until he was pressed against a wall. "Don't!"

"Don't what?" Tarrant asked.

"Don't anything!" Vila peered out from between his fingers. "She isn't here, is she?"

"Who?" Tarrant asked, perplexed.

"Jenna."

"No, of course not." Tarrant chuckled. "You're afraid of her, aren't you?"

"Any sensible person would be. That woman is tougher than Herculaneum nails." Vila was shivering.

"Then why did you have her in the dream?"

"I didn't put her there. Avon did. He probably thought it was funny. He knows how I feel about her."

Tarrant was thoughtful and silent for a moment. "How much of these dreams is Avon and how much you?"

"Well, I could sort of talk him into doing something, if I made it sound like fun," Vila said. "But mostly, it's him."

Tarrant digested that. "Then he really does want to have sex with me dominating him?"

"I guess so." Vila wriggled his neck, which was becoming cramped. "But I wouldn't like to try it on the flight deck, if I were you."

"No. I don't think that would be wise." Tarrant cleared his throat. "Er, Vila."

"Yes?"

"If most of that was Avon, do you think maybe he really is... you know?"

"Avon? A virgin? Boggles the mind." Vila shook his head. "Well, if he is, you can teach him." Vila yawned. "But you can teach him tomorrow. I'm going to sleep in a real bed. Dayna and Cally will probably be back in an hour or so anyway." Vila struggled to his feet and headed out the door. He paused in the doorway to look back at Tarrant. "Now, mind you, don't play with him by yourself."

Tarrant pulled himself to his feet, using the leg of Avon's cot for support. The monitors were still functioning normally, Avon was still creeping up the ladder of consciousness and the regenerator still worked on the parts of the male anatomy that had been getting an unaccustomed workout. Avon was close enough to waking to cooperate as Tarrant cared for him, close enough to glare if he was annoyed. But he wasn't glaring. Avon's expression was... well, if Tarrant had seen it on another face, he'd call it wistful. "You really don't hate me, do you?" Tarrant whispered, bending close to listen to Avon's response. Soft lips touched his ear, and a warm, wet tongue briefly investigated the lobe. Tarrant jerked back. "What do you want from me, Avon? What do you really want?"  
Avon's lips twitched upward. One hand came up to catch Tarrant's and pull it toward his temple. A surprisingly strong hand.

"No. Wait. Vila said...wait a minute, since when do I obey Vila?" And then Tarrant was lost, as he touched Avon. He had an instant's awareness of his body folding up across Avon's cot, then... _He was back on the big bed, handcuffed this time. What was it with Avon and bondage? Was that his idea of safe sex? Was the idea of equal partners simply enjoying each other too pedestrian for him? Was he a frightened innocent, or a jaded connoisseur? He pulled, but the chains were secure. Avon stood there, silent, naked and aroused. Just staring at him. And staring. And staring. When he couldn't stand the impasse one more instant Tarrant cried out, "What am I supposed to do? What do you want?"_

_"I'd like a bit more show of spirit," Avon announced, reaching down to stroke himself, slowly, just to watch Tarrant drool with envy._

_Tarrant arched in his bonds, then collapsed, panting from the futile effort. "If you want to see some spirit, then why don't you release me?" He rattled his chains. "What can you expect from someone handcuffed and chained to a bed?"_

_"A trifle more ingenuity than you're showing." Avon sighed. He sounded disappointed._

_Tarrant's hands clenched in the cuffs. He glared._

_Floating vis-cameras entered the room, along with a muscle-bound technician in stained overalls. She glanced idly at the men, coughed to get their attention and said, "Okie dokey, where you want the set-up?"_

_Avon glared at her. It was a much better job than Tarrant had just done, but the woman just yawned. And showed a hell of a lot of teeth. Big teeth. Sharp teeth. "Look. I gotta get done. Me and Nick have a date and I don't wanna be late."_

_Avon muttered, "Nick wouldn't be caught dead with you."_

_Tarrant considered Avon's remark unwise. Particularly as the woman also had large, pointed ears which revolved to point directly at Avon as he spoke."He was, and is. You wanna join him?" The low growl was unnerving, but the red light that gleamed in her eyes was positively frightening._

_"Um, Avon didn't mean that," Tarrant said, acutely aware of his own vulnerability and of the fact that if Avon got caught up in a confrontation it was more likely someone would get killed than screwed._

_The red eyes turned to take in Tarrant's situation more closely. "You're pretty. Why're you bothering with sour-puss, here?"_

_Avon snarled, and went for her. She caught him casually, one hand around his throat and held him while he clawed at her, helpless as a newborn kitten._

_"Please don't hurt him," Tarrant said politely, but desperately._

_"Why not?"_

_"Well." The red eyes bored into him and Tarrant felt compelled to tell the truth. "Because he gets damn near irresistible to women when he's in pain and I don't want to share him with you."_

_The woman laughed and dropped Avon, who collapsed on the floor, mewing weakly and clutching at his throat. She moved over to the bed. "You really want him, then?"_

_"Oh, yes," Tarrant moaned, his hips moving against the bed entirely without his urging._

_"Like this?" She indicated his bonds._

_"Actually," Tarrant confessed, "I'd rather it the other way around."_

_Her ruby-red lips curved and she snickered. "All right." She set up the cameras in a loose ring around the bed, stepping over Avon's huddled body. He attempted to rise, but she stared at him, and said, "STAY". He whined and crouched motionless in place. Tarrant watched, amazed. The woman returned to the bed and snapped his bonds, tearing the case-hardened Herculaneum from his wrists and ankles like so much tissue paper. She patted him on the head and said, "I like you, Curly. How do you want him?" She pointed with her chin at Avon._

_"Er. Um." The temptation to ask this woman to turn Avon into a panting love-slave was nearly overwhelming. If he hadn't been a strongly moral, loyal, honest ... hey, wait a minute, he was a deserter, a mercenary, a man who knifed his enemies in the back when that was the most convenient way to get rid of them. "How about a panting love-slave?" he asked. He almost changed his mind when he saw the look on Avon's face. Then he grinned and said, "How's that for ingenuity?"_

_"Cheaters never prosper," Avon mumbled._

_"Sure they do," the woman replied. She pulled Avon up from the floor by his shoulders and stared into his face. "How do you feel about a night as Tarrant's love slave? Only one night. In the morning, the compulsion will have passed."_

_Avon struggled to keep his mouth shut, but failed. He said, "I want it. I'm sexually bored."_

_"Not yet," Tarrant said, softly. "But you will be."_

_As if he hadn't heard, Avon continued, "Everyone wants me and I oblige them, but it's too easy. Tonight I was rather hoping to get Tarrant frustrated and angry enough to rape me, just for a change of pace."_

_"Fat chance," Tarrant said. "I was chained. How the hell could I have raped you?"_

_"If you had examined the cuffs and leg chains you might have recognized them. They're the Houdini specials Vila picked up on Freedom City. All you had to do was press them down on the headboard and they would have sprung open."_

_Tarrant turned to look at the mangled metal. "Oops. Vila won't be happy about this. Then again." His eyes narrowed and he sat up, glaring at Avon. "He lent them to you, didn't he?"_

_"You know Vila. He likes easy money. For what I paid, he would cheerfully have shaved you bald and painted you purple."_

_Tarrant ran a hand through his headful of luxuriant curls and shuddered. "Brr. No, that's too horrible." He turned to the woman. "I don't want to listen to this anymore."_

_"Avon." The red-eyed woman caught her captive's attention. He made a token attempt to twist aside, then relaxed and met her gaze squarely. "You want Tarrant."_

_"I want Tarrant," Avon repeated._

_"You need Tarrant."_

_"I need Tarrant."_

_"Your fondest wish is to serve his sexual needs. Your greatest satisfaction lies in his pleasure."_

_"Yes," Avon moaned._

_"You burn for him. For his touch, his smile, his possession, even his domination. You are nothing but his slave and you are happy that he has chosen you. You know you do not deserve the honor."_

_"No," Avon said, sadly._

_"You know that he could spurn you. Leave you to suffer untold agonies, while he takes comfort in another's arms."_

_"No," Avon whimpered. "Please, Tarrant."_

_"He will use you without mercy. And you love him for it."_

_"Yes," Avon growled, throaty with desire. With nothing more than her words, he was fully roused, eyes dilated black, mouth open to gasp as his chest heaved, cock straining upward, yearning._

_"That ought to do," the woman said cheerfully. She went over to Tarrant and held out a comp-pad and stylus. "Sign here."_

_"What?" Tarrant was distracted watching Avon. The man was staring at him as if he were starving and Tarrant was a nice, juicy steak._

_"For the cameras. C'mon, c'mon," she said, losing the sexy, sophisticated voice she'd used on Avon. "I gotta get to my crypt, change, and pick up a bottle of O-neg at the Quickie Mart."_

_Bemused, Tarrant signed. "Right," she said, after glancing at the scrawl. "I've gotta fly." With that, she shrank, shriveled, and folded in on herself like an origami figure being formed, until a large, black bat clutching a comp-pad in its talons flapped its leathery wings, winked once at Tarrant and flew out the open door, which obediently shut itself after her._

_"Er, Avon," Tarrant said, "Why don't you come over here?"_

_"Yes, Master, dearest." Avon practically flung himself at the pilot. He wrapped his arms around Tarrant and began kissing frantically anything he could reach._

_"Erph." Tarrant got his mouth free for an instant. "Slow down."_

_"I have displeased you?" Avon dropped to his knees on the floor beside the bed and began wailing, beating at his chest and plucking at his hair._

_"Stop that." Tarrant leaned over the bed to stare at Avon. "If you and that woman are playing a game too, you'd better remember how you get in zero Gee."_

_"Sick, Master. I get sick in zero Gee," Avon answered. His eyes gazed up at Tarrant, filled with adoration. "But you don't. You're so strong."_

_"Remember that too."_

_"So virile." Avon licked his lips. "So tall and straight." Avon wasn't looking at the top of Tarrant's head as he said this. "So firm and hot-blooded. So arrogant and masterful." Avon moaned. "Ooh, Master, take me. Please. Take me."_

_"Maybe I will. If you're very good." Tarrant leaned back on the bed, lacing his fingers together behind his head. "Please me."_

_"Yes, Master." Avon crawled onto the bed, slowly, watching Tarrant's face for any sign of annoyance. "I worship you, Master. I am unworthy to kiss the dirt your feet have trodden on." He licked between Tarrant's toes, warmly, sensuously, nuzzling the sole of the foot he venerated._

_Tarrant moaned. "Very nice. Higher."_

_"Oh, thank you, Master." Avon licked a trail up Tarrant's leg, tongue swirling through wiry hair, over the bone and muscle, behind the knee, and up to the thigh. He lay, panting, level with the base of Tarrant's cock. "Master. May I?"_

_"You may," Tarrant graciously granted permission._

_"You are the kindest, most generous Master in the universe," Avon said, before engulfing Tarrant's cock._

_He was not used to this, but he was doing his best. His lips caressed the hard, throbbing length, his tongue traced delicately along the veins on the underside, and he swallowed, forcing himself not to choke or gag as his Master's organ filled his throat. He pressed his lips against Tarrant's groin, proud of his achievement._

_"Ah. Oh. Yes." Tarrant began moving his hips. It was apparent Avon was new to this, so he held back, thrusting as gently as possible given the state of his excitement. And the tightness of Avon's throat, and the coarse scratch of Avon's chin against Tarrant's balls, which quivered and tightened under the stimulus. "Ah, Hell." He grabbed the back of Avon's neck and hung on for dear life as he climaxed hard, the frantic gulping motion around his penis driving him wild. "Wow." Tarrant came back to reality some time later. He was lying flat on his back with a warm, heavy weight pinning down his legs. "That was... really, really nice," he said, not wanting to give Avon too much praise. "But you can get up now." The weight did not shift. Abruptly, Tarrant realized he still had his hands clamped deep into Avon's silky hair, holding the other's mouth pressed against his groin. His stiffened fingers reluctantly loosened and he patted one sweaty shoulder. "Get up, Avon." The weight still did not shift._

_"Uh, oh." Tarrant pushed Avon off of him and sat up, rolling the limp body to one side. Avon's head lolled even more limply, long-lashed eyes shut, face turning a delicate shade of blue. "Oh, Shit!" Tarrant put his head down to Avon's chest, but couldn't tell if there was a heartbeat or not. "Damn it, if I've suffocated Avon, the girls will never let me live it down!" He shuddered and began pumping Avon's chest, a straight- armed heave, one- two, heave. Air left Avon's mouth in a wheezing grunt, but he still didn't breathe on his own. "No, no, no!" Tarrant cried."Avon, you can't do this to me!" He knelt over Avon and began mouth- to- mouth. It was awkward as Avon's nose either dug into his cheek or threatened to gouge out an eyeball, but he persisted, barely noticing the taste of his own cum._

_He was becoming light-headed when the body beneath him twitched and he felt Avon's chest begin to rise and fall on its own, not exactly in synch with his rhythm. He sighed in heartfelt relief and sat back, watching Avon breathe._

_"Master?" Avon said weakly as his eyelashes fluttered, then opened. He sat up. "Did I -" he paused to cough, "did I please you?"_

_"Yes, you did," Tarrant answered. "I'm sorry I hurt you. It was an accident."_

_Avon's lids shuttered for an instant and he looked confused. "You did not wish to choke me into unconsciousness?"_

_"Not this time, no."_

_Avon's face clouded up and he began sobbing. "Then I failed you, Master." He began ripping at his hair and beating his chest again._

_Tarrant lunged forward, driving Avon flat into the bed. "No, you didn't fail me. You were wonderful. Fantastic. The best ever." All thought of the dangers of inflating Avon's ego was lost. Avon was going to be ticked off enough in the morning without having ruined his coiffure. The man had more than his fair share of cranial vanity. Heaven help the villain who managed to get a peek at Avon's encroaching bald spot._

_Avon smiled. "I was very good, Master?"_

_"Yes, absolutely."_

_Avon's grin widened. "Master," he purred, voice dropping an octave, practically dripping with lust. "Was I good enough to earn my reward?"_

_"Reward? What ... oh, that reward." Tarrant looked down at Avon, doubtfully. "Are you sure you're up to it?"_

_Avon squirmed, pressing up against Tarrant. For an older man, Avon had managed a quick recovery. And then some, judging by the hard cylinder poking Tarrant's flank. "Well..." Tarrant was about to beg off on the grounds that he wasn't ready. A lie, admittedly, but one that seemed prudent. He was terrified of the consequences if he got carried away again._

_Avon squirmed beneath him, somehow freeing one hand to reach beyond Tarrant to the bedside table, the other hand traveling south to tickle and rub. "Master," Avon said, "Master?"_

_"What?" Tarrant was having difficulty listening as Avon's hand had gotten inexplicably slippery and was sliding up and down Tarrant's hardening shaft with practiced grace._

_"Please, Master." Avon spread his legs and wrapped them around Tarrant's waist._

_"Ooooh." Tarrant gave up. Shakily, he rose to his knees. "Ever done this before?"_

_"Maybe," Avon said, coyly lowering his eyes. "But it never would have meant anything. Not with anyone else. Anyone else would have been just an anonymous, hot, throbbing, pulsing cock to fill my arse."_

_"OOOhhh." Tarrant gulped for air as the seductive tone and filthy language coming from prissy-lips Avon (who wouldn't say 'shit' if Servalan blew off both his kneecaps) struck him. His penis liked it, coming to full attention. "There may be some pain involved," he warned Avon._

_"I'll be gentle, Master."_

_Suspicious, Tarrant examined Avon's face, but could see no evidence of guile or deception. Still, with Avon that didn't always mean much. The man was born sneaky and studied every day to be sneakier. "Relax," he said, deciding to go along with it no matter what. Avon might kill him in the morning, but it would be worth it._

_"Yes, Master."_

_Tarrant rubbed against Avon's bottom, feeling for the hole. It was very tight, he discovered, probing with a finger. "I said, 'relax'." He probed again, but Avon yelped suddenly, then froze._

_"What's the matter?" Tarrant tried to push a finger in and met resistance once more. He stroked Avon's cock, hoping the pleasure would loosen his lover, but Avon had gone soft and whimpered as Tarrant's firm grip was painful instead. "This isn't going to work."_

_"I'm sorry, Master. Please, go on. I'll be quiet."_

_"I don't want you to suffer in silence. I want you to enjoy this too. Let go of me."_

_Avon obeyed, but looked acutely miserable._

_Tarrant turned him onto his stomach and patted him reassuringly on the buttocks. "Don't worry. I'm going to take you. Just be patient." Tarrant rose to his knees and studied the arrangement of items on the bedside desk left over from the previous dream. Should be something there... ah, perfect. He picked up a slender, flexible probe with the words 'Bobanneil's Bunghole Borer ---- Ptd. July 19, 2996 ' embossed along its length. He examined it. It was an ingenious device with a comfortable handle and a series of small buttons at the end opposite the shiny, pink bulge of the business end. "All right. You just lie there and look beautiful and let Master take care of everything."_

_Avon sighed and turned his head to one side, watching with wide, luminous eyes as Tarrant dipped the probe in lubricant. It was an unnecessary precaution as the apparatus was made of 'living' plastic, which could be set to any surface texture or shape programmed into its 'memory'. At present it was at its thinnest and slipperiest. The handle was the only part made of normal material.A very expensive toy. He wondered briefly whether it was Vila's or Avon's addition to the dream."This won't hurt." Tarrant parted Avon's cheeks and touched the tip of the probe to Avon's hole. He pressed the first button and the device wriggled, vibrating gently in his hand, forming into a spiral, circling, seeking its target. The tiny computer controlling it sent it pressing insistently around and around, until Avon slackened in response to the gentle stroking. Then it entered and he made a small sound, brought on by mental discomfort only, as he reacted to what was obviously a new situation. Tarrant shook his head. And Avon had wanted to be raped for his first time on the bottom? The man might be a genius, but he had no common sense.The probe wormed its way in, pulling Tarrant's hand along. When his knuckles pressed up against Avon's warm, sweaty flesh, he said, "That's better, isn't it?"_

_"Yes, Master," Avon replied, muffled against his forearm. He was hiding, Tarrant guessed, but whether from the onset of pleasure or the fear of failure was a toss-up._

_"Next." The second button brought another gasp as the plastic straightened and swelled inside Avon. Tarrant smoothly pulled it out, then pressed it back in. It still wasn't quite as thick as one of his fingers and Avon was able to ride with the sensation. Tarrant checked underneath. Yes, Avon was beginning to enjoy it. The belly muscles were looser and the limp cock dangling below was just that tiny bit firmer than it had been. Tarrant pumped several times, until the device was moving freely._

_"Third setting." He was being very careful to avoid surprising Avon. He didn't think he had the patience to start all over again. His own prick was dancing against his stomach, begging to dive into that tight hole that swayed so temptingly below it. The probe enlarged further. Now as Tarrant pulled it out, he could see it was the equal of two of his fingers put together. Avon rocked back and forth with each stroke, shaking and shivering continuously. A quick grope- yes, inflation was definitely taking place."Fourth." Tarrant was running out of breath for speech. The probe bumped against something and jerked in his hand as Avon lunged forward. "Ah. That hit the spot."_

_"Master?" Avon's voice was stunned. "That felt good."_

_"It's supposed to." Tarrant was really annoyed. Avon had expected to be hurt and wanted him to do it, and then be guilty for doing exactly as Avon had maneuvered him. He was rapidly losing patience. "Fifth," he said before he thought Avon was ready. He thrust hard and was rewarded with a whimper. Despite his annoyance he felt a twinge of guilt about the whimper, but Avon pressed back against the probe._

_"Six, Master! Master, Six, SIX!"_

_"Eager for it, aren't you?" Tarrant hit the requested button and shoved, but only a few times as his arm was getting tired, and something else was tired of waiting. Besides, level six appeared to be almost the same diameter as his cock. Nowhere near as long, but Avon could learn that for himself. He whipped the  
probe out and yanked Avon to his knees._

_"Seven!" he shouted and aimed himself with one hand, the other gripping Avon's shoulder. He grunted, pushed hard and got himself halfway in on the first thrust._

_"Maaaaasster!" Avon shrieked and began bucking._

_"Oh, God. Oh, God!" Tarrant pulled back and slammed forward again. Avon was so warm and tender inside, so soft and comforting. Like mounting silk and riding satin. His balls smacked against Avon's cheeks as he filled the other man all the way, his groin grinding against Avon's backside. He looked down as he pulled out. Lovely. Avon spread wide on his cock, the arsehole clutching at him, trying to hold him inside. He reached down and snatched at Avon's penis. It was plump and feverishly warm and jerked in his hold. He squeezed and pulled, making Avon screech in a most gratifying fashion._

_"Master. Master." Avon was stuck on that one word, but Tarrant didn't mind. That lovely voice sobbing with pleasure as he dominated his erstwhile leader fell so perfectly on his ears that he could listen to it all night. His hips rose and fell with frantic, desperate haste. He ached so. The pain and the pleasure were so mingled that he wasn't sure he'd survive it, and he really didn't give a damn. Just so he died on top of Avon, with his prick plumping up that beautiful arse and spreading those luscious cheeks._

_He grunted again, pulling Avon up higher and aiming his hips deeper. Beneath him Avon went insane, twisting and arching and screaming his excitement. He couldn't even say 'Master'now,Tarrant thought smugly._

_He grabbed Avon's balls, tugging on them. Avon rose up on his knees and warbled something which might have been understandable to an Andromedan shape-shifter while it was impersonating a rabid wolf, then he convulsed, shooting semen over the once pristine satin sheets._

_Tarrant did some growling and convulsing himself as Avon's orgasm caused the tunnel he was ramming to contract. Very tightly. And with wonderful rippling sensations as the muscles tightened and relaxed in bands. "A- von!" He pushed so hard that Avon slipped off the bed, with Tarrant on top, still thrusting like mad. Fortunately, the rug was very thick and plushy._

_Avon was getting shoved all around the floor now, as Tarrant went into lust-filled overdrive. He locked his arms around Avon's waist and scrabbled after his lover, his back flexing like a whip as his hips bounced high and landed low. Avon was wailing and whimpering constantly now, digging his fingers into the carpet and pulling himself along with the busily entwined pilot propelling him along."I found it. I found it! Oh, at last!"_

_Tarrant had never heard such love and pure, honest affection in Avon's voice before. "Yes!" he shouted and came, finding nirvana in a snobbish Alpha's lovely tight arse. He held on through the waves of electric pleasure, pressing Avon down flat to the rug as he pumped and spurted, giving Avon all he had. When he finally collapsed, his balls felt shriveled and empty. For the moment. He sighed and pulled out of Avon._

_"Are you all right?" he asked, seeing the tears coursing down Avon's face. He'd been rough, but not that rough._

_"Wonderful, Master." One hand crept down to Avon's arse to caress the flushed skin, slick with Tarrant's seed. The other hand was clutching something to his chest._

_"What's that?" Tarrant asked, curious. The thing was half-hidden under Avon's chest and at his words Avon flattened himself protectively over it._

_"Please, Master. You wouldn't want it. It's mine. I lost it a long time ago."_

_"Just let me see." When Avon still hesitated, Tarrant added, "Don't you want to please your Master?"_

_"Yes, Master." Avon's voice was very soft and hesitant. He lifted up slightly and pulled the object out, offering it to Tarrant. "Please, don't hurt Gladly."_

_"Gladly?" Tarrant examined the thing. It was soft and fuzzy, and golden brown. It almost matched the texture and color of the carpet, which explained why he hadn't noticed it before. "A representation of some sort of alien?" he wondered, turning the thing over. It had four limbs and was roughly humanoid, except for round animal ears and a long snout decorated with a black oval and two black lines apparently intended to represent a mouth. It also had two badly crossed beady black eyes which gave it an unexpectedly winsome look. For an alien, that is._

_"It's mine," Avon repeated. He watched as the thing swung in Tarrant's hand. "It's my Teddy Bear."_

_Hearing a note of desperation in Avon's voice, Tarrant handed back the furry thing. He was amused when Avon examined it closely, then kissed it and hugged it to his chest. "I take it you're rather fond of it?"_

_"I talk to him, and tell him my secrets. He listens. He always understands, and never, never betrays me."_

_"Neither have I, Avon."_

_Avon hesitated. Then he grinned. "That's true, Master." He set the bear down on the rug, carefully. He looked at it for an instant, then brought the paws up to cover its eyes. "I think this is one secret you needn't share, Gladly." Avon reached his hand out to Tarrant. "Hadn't we ought to take advantage of the remainder of the evening?"_

_"You forgot to call me Master," Tarrant said, accepting Avon's hand._

_Avon grinned wider. "Master," he said in his normal voice, then his eyes went wide and soft and innocent as his bear's. "Master. Oh, Master. Please. Take me."_

_Tarrant sighed and leaned forward to kiss Avon. It was a long, lingering exploration of each other's mouths and bodies, as hands roamed freely. When they broke for breath, Tarrant said into Avon's ear. "I knew it all along."_

_"Oh? How?" Avon wasn't really interested in the answer as his hands were stroking Tarrant's buttocks, and experimenting._

_"The vampire knew my name before you said it. So I knew it was a set-up."_

_"But you decided to go along with it anyway. Because you trust me?"_

_"I have been known to have these foolish outbreaks of optimism."Avon grinned and groped Tarrant rudely. "Let's get back to bed. I want to screw you, this time."_

_Tarrant said, "Your wish is my command. Master," as he happily led the way.  
_

"Tarrant, do you have a death-wish?" Cally's voice was really very annoying, Tarrant decided. On the shriek scale she was right up there with launching pursuit ships and detonating crazed robots.

"I didn't think so," Tarrant answered, trying to pull himself together. He was lying flat on the deck, stripped to the waist with wicked-looking electrodes Vaselined to his nipples. "This is very kinky, Cally," he commented. "Am I still in Avon's dream?"

"No, you are not!" Cally ripped the electrodes loose, taking a painful amount of chest hair along with them. "But only because I came back early. What were you thinking of, playing telepathic sex games with Avon? A mind that has been repressed as deeply as his is full of perversions and dangers!"

Tarrant tried to look innocent. "You told me to look after him. He's much better, isn't he?"

"He is. You were not. You could have fried your brain. What would we have done with a two-metre tall vegetable?" Cally's rage was fueled by her fear. Tarrant had barely been breathing when she entered and found him draped decoratively over Avon's form.

"Make a couple litres of Hollandaise?" Tarrant said weakly.

"That does it." Cally grabbed Tarrant by the arm and yanked him up. "You are going to your cabin and stay there until Avon is fully recovered. After he finds what you've done, it may be safer for you to remain there for the rest of your life."

"But what about Avon?" Tarrant protested.

"He'll be all right until I can return. It is not as if I was abandoning him to his enemies."

"Like Jenna?" Tarrant said, remembering what Vila had said about the woman.

"Jenna was not Avon's enemy," Cally said. "Of course, they did not get along too well. But she would have stood shoulder to shoulder with Avon against a true enemy, like Travis."If Cally had looked back, she would have seen Avon's face crease in a worried frown, then his hands lift up to touch his temples.

_  
This dream was different. There was no other mind to help Avon, to comfort and support him. The scene was much the same, another innocuous bedroom, but this time Avon was not there. Not even as a drugged body awaiting another's pleasure. Instead, he was an observer, silent and invisible, as Cally had been. A spectator, and an audience, to the two strong-willed individuals who were facing each other with open hostility and veiled lust._

_Jenna stood, blazing gloriously, back straight and head flung back proudly. "You'll never catch Blake." She would have died before she told anyone, particularly Travis, that Blake had dumped her for Avon. Blake had been so sweet and honest about his preferences that she had to forgive him, but Avon?_

_Travis admired her even as he rose to his own full height to intimidate. "Tell me where Blake is, or I'll turn you over to my men."_

_Jenna said, taunting, "What's the matter? You're not enough of a real man to catch Blake or even threaten his woman yourself?" She took that one small step separating them, and grabbed Travis's crotch, in a move intended to humiliate and distract, perhaps long enough for her to get out of this room and find a weapon._

_Travis roared and flung her back, but not quickly enough. Jenna's skilled pilot's fingers had already assessed and reported to her stunned brain. She looked down at the tight-fitting leather smoothly covering Travis's crotch. Too tight and too smooth. Abruptly, she was furious with Blake. Bad enough he ignored her to fool around with Avon, of all people, but to find herself hot, horny, and face to face with a stunningly sexy and desirable man who'd lost his equipment to Blake's lucky shot so long ago was just too much. Damn. Damn! She said out loud with true feeling, "DAMN Blake!"_

_Travis's lips quirked and his lone, darkly seductive, eye looked down at her with something approaching empathy. "I've tried, you know. He just won't cooperate."_

_"Is it all gone?" Jenna said. Having once read 'A Farewell to Arms' she had hopes they might manage something. Blake had his. She wanted hers. Tall, lean and homicidal was much more appealing than a Space Romance novel and a pound of chocolates, which all went to her hips, anyway._

_Travis's glossy head lowered. "My men call me 'Wee Willie Winkie' if that's any clue. Although none of them say it more than once," he muttered.  
"Poor thing," Jenna said, reaching out to comfort Travis._

_Travis snarled and lifted his lazeron destroyer. "I don't take anyone's pity, you rebel slut!"_

_Jenna leaped for Travis's arm, pulling it down as he fired, and twirled him neatly through the air in the general direction of the far wall._

_Jenna cocked her head to one side, studying Travis, lying flat on his back on a nice, soft bed with the wind knocked out of him. The advantage was hers. "Waste not, want not," she said. She bounded onto the mattress, unscrewed the focus gem on his lazeron and tossed it. She heard a distant 'crunch' and grinned. The clasps on his leather trousers were tight, but not beyond her strong, agile hands. "Well, well, well," she said, at the final unveiling. "This has possibilities."_

_Travis shook his head, coming back to awareness simultaneously with a cool draft in an unexpected area._

_"I hope you're satisfied," he said bitterly, covering himself with his hands._

_"Not yet," Jenna said. She looked in the drawers of the desk, confident that her need would have been anticipated. It just felt so right. She found what she wanted, and triumphantly waved it in front of Travis._

_"But I will be, and you, too."_

_"It isn't possible," Travis said, bitterness coating his words as he ignored her discovery. "There isn't enough there!"_

_"You Federation troopers are so unimaginative," Jenna replied, while coating the object she had found with Frangipani- scented lubricant. "I was a smuggler. I know ways you've never dreamed of, leather-boy."_

_Travis's eye glittered with suspicion. "You're just trying to distract me from your lover, Blake."_

_"Screw Blake." The more Travis protested, the more intrigued Jenna was._

_"I CAN'T!" Travis shouted, his famous cool entirely blown. He curled up and yanked the covers over himself. "Go AWAY!"_

_"This is ridiculous." Jenna came close and put a hand on Travis's shoulder. "Come on, it's easy."_

_Travis may have been un-manned, but he was still much stronger than she was. He flung her aside. "Go play with your rebel trash." He sounded as if he were about to burst into tears._

_That stopped Jenna. She moved away from the bed and began pacing while she thought about the problem. She knew Travis was meant to be hers; this was just a challenge, to figure out how to get him. Drugs? No, that was no fun. Besides, once they wore off, he'd probably kill her. Seduction? She considered it, then shook her head. He had no self-esteem left and would feel she was trying to humiliate him. That left brute force. She looked down at her arms. No way, not on this planet or any other. She'd have to recruit help._

_Let's see, Blake? She visualized the fireworks and flinched. Scratch that. Vila? Vila overpowering anyone? She chuckled, and drew a mental line through his name. Well, that only left... Ta-Daaaa... Avon._

_The name fell like a brick. She sighed. He was arrogant, obnoxious, and quite sure he was better-looking than Jenna, despite his schnozz. Then again, he had plenty of experience. He'd been both rapist and rapée, with Vila, Blake and half the FSA graduating class. She looked over at the quivering body huddled beneath thin linen sheets. Good lines. Too good to waste, even if she did have to sweet-talk Avon. She rummaged through the drawer again and found her Liberator teleport bracelet. She thumbed the communicator button and said, hopefully, "Avon?"_

_*Avon is not presently able to come to the communicator,* responded Orac's voice, sounding infinitely bored. *Leave your name, com-number, and brief message at the sound of the Bonk.*Zen said, +BONK+._

_"Avon, you shit!" Jenna yelled, "Get your arse here, before I tell Cally how her Moondisk died!" So much for sweet-talking. But she hated talking to machines, except for Zen. And that was only because he was hooked up to one really hot ship._

_"What is it?" Avon's nasal, and irritated, tones came back._

_The bastard had been screening his calls, as she figured. "I want you to help me rape Travis."_

_"What?" There was a long pause, then Avon said in a muffled voice, as if talking to someone over his shoulder. "Hold that thought. I've just had an offer I think is worthy of me." Then louder, "I'll be right there."_

_"You'd better." Jenna snapped the communicator off and tossed the bracelet into a drawer. She heard the familiar teleport sound-effect behind her and turned. She laughed._

_Avon frowned and drew his toga into graceful folds, tossing an end over his shoulder. He removed the bunch of grapes that was dangling over one ear and politely offered them to her. She accepted and munched on the tart, purple fruit while looking Avon up and down. He wasn't as bulky as Blake, but she thought there was enough muscle to do the job, with her help._

_"For your information, I didn't kill the Moondisk. Vila smothered it in massage oil."_

_"Then why did you come?"_

_"You offered me a new experience. Have you any idea how rare that is for me?" He bowed over her hand and kissed the back of it in archaic Alpha gallantry which only slightly annoyed her this time, mostly because his toga shifted when he bent over giving her a better view of his charms._

_"No. And I don't care." Jenna pointed at the bed. "There he is. He's just been bashed and I can't do a thing with him."_

_Avon moved closer. "This is Travis?" he said, prodding the sheets with a sneer. He might not have been so arrogant, but he had previously discovered the crushed bits of power-jewel when he scrunched his bare feet on them._

_Travis snarled unintelligibly under the covers._

_Avon asked, "What's wrong with him?"_

_"Well..." Jenna's voice dropped to a bare whisper. "Blake shot him."_

_"Travis keeps harping on about that. You'd think he was the only one who ever got hurt." Avon pouted. "I've been concussed, shot, tortured, betrayed by every..." He stopped. Jenna was tapping the floor, arms crossed and glaring. "Well, I have," he said defiantly._

_"But you don't scar," Jenna said. Avon's pout deepened. "Not on the outside, anyway. And Blake got more than Travis's arm and eye." Her hand pointed at her own groin, by way of illustration._

_Avon went pale._

_Jenna held up the unusual marital aid. "If you could just convince him to try it, he'd like it."_

_"I refuse to touch that thing," Avon said, backing up. "Or Travis, either. I've changed my mind."_

_Jenna advanced, determination in her eyes, device in her left hand. "This is supposed to be an age of equal opportunity. Now, either you help me with Travis, or I'll equal things another way." Her right hand moved suddenly and a shining silver blade appeared. She dropped into a fighter's crouch. "Do you really think you can take me, Alpha boy?" she said in a throaty growl, part sexy, part threatening._

_Avon looked nervously around. No blasters. No double-edged serrated weapons. Not even a tall, curly-haired, idealistic rebel to hide behind. "Well, now, I did promise, didn't I? I always keep my word."_

_Jenna straightened, smiled, and made the knife disappear somewhere in the folds of the scanty, skin-tight outfit she was wearing. "Good. You can start by getting out of that toga." Jenna began stripping herself by way of example. Avon's eyes grew wider as she began peeling off restraining undergarments. "That's better," Jenna said as her size 48D's bounced freely. She took a couple of deep breaths and Avon swayed. She unhooked her specially designed girdle, releasing the natural contours of her hips. She paused when she heard a thump behind her and turned, seeking the source of the noise. It seemed to have been Avon's body hitting the floor in a dead faint._

_"Avon. Get up off the floor."Avon didn't move. Jenna came closer and peered into his face. "Wake up, you effete snob!" She was getting very tired of Alpha sensibilities. Ever since puberty she'd had to squeeze herself out of shape in a vain attempt to approach the Alpha ideal. For some reason boobs and bums were out. She'd hoped the rebels were more free in their lusts, but it seemed they were as conservative as anyone in private matters. She slapped Avon hard across the face. "Wake up!"_

_Avon groaned and blinked. "Moons of Endor," he whispered, seeing pink, rounded objects floating before his eyes. He put out a hand and encountered one of the 'moons'. It was warm and gave softly under his experimental squeeze. He put his head to one side. "Hmm. Interesting. Not at all like Anna."_

_"Who?" Jenna asked, mildly insulted that Avon was comparing her to another woman._

_"Oh, nobody you'd ever have met," Avon said. "Just a top Federation agent I used to sleep with before she turned me over to the interrogators."_

_"Were you that bad a lover?"_

_"Possibly," Avon said, unruffled. He was fascinated by the way Jenna's breasts jiggled and made no protest when she pulled his toga off his shoulders to lie bunched about his waist. He was far too busy staring._

_"You like them?" Jenna asked, pleased by Avon's response. She got up and backed toward the bed. "You want them, you have to earn them."_

_Avon shimmied out of the toga in two seconds flat._

_Jenna looked him up and down before nodding. "Not bad. I still don't get what Blake sees in you, though."_

_Avon gave her a wicked grin as he approached. "Blake loves me for my mind," he said. He knelt between her feet and began fondling her arse and thighs as he nuzzled her crotch, tongue paving a pathway to her center._

_Jenna's legs trembled under the assault. She clutched Avon's head closer. "I begin to see what you mean. But what do you see in Blake?"_

_Avon paused, lifted his head and said, "I like curls," before returning to work._

_Jenna moaned and threw her head back. "OH, YES!"_

_The bundle on the bed twitched. Travis peeked out from under the covers. "Hey! What about me?"_

_"I thought you weren't interested," Jenna said, running her hands down Avon's shoulders as far as she could reach without throwing him off his stride._

_"I was interested. I just have to maintain my reputation as hard-to-get." The sheets fell further back as Travis sat up and began unbuttoning and unzipping_

_"So does Blake," Jenna muttered. "Except with him," Jenna said, indicating Avon. "It's not fair."_

_"Is it supposed to be?" Travis asked, surprised. "They told me I'd get to wear black leather and work closely with beautiful, sexy women. They left out a few bits."_

_Avon couldn't resist the obvious opening. He turned toward Travis and said, "Yes, I can see that something's missing. Never mind, it probably wasn't much to start with."_

_Travis growled and sprang, landing on Avon's back with his artificial arm wrapped around Avon's throat. "I've had a hard day. Blasted three walls and a couple herculaneum doors to get in here. What you have to ask yourself, Avon, is how much power is left in my arm? Enough to snap your neck? Eh? Tell me, punk, do you feel lucky?"_

_Avon gurgled and pawed at Travis's arm, eyes rolling whitely._

_Jenna magically produced her knife again. "Travis, if you don't want to be missing 'The Bobbsey Twins' along with what's left of Wee Willie Winkie, you'll stop choking him."_

_Reluctantly, Travis loosed his grip and let Avon collapse to the floor, wheezing. "All right, but he'd better watch his mouth."_

_"He does have a nice mouth, doesn't he?" Jenna said._

_Travis squinted and examined Avon. "Adequate," he admitted grudgingly. He yanked off the rest of his uniform. "You can forget about the raping me part, though. I don't do victim. And Avon is so good at it, isn't he?"_

_Jenna decided that Travis had an even more wicked grin than Avon. "But I told Avon he could. That's why he came here."_

_"So? Are you the first person who's ever lied to him?" Travis had taken Jenna's lubricated aid and was trying it on for size. He was quite pleased with the effect and the feel, as tiny suction motors went to work on Willie. He secured it around his waist and legs with the flesh-colored leather straps and ran his live hand down the length of rubberized replacement. "I like it," he decided. "Do these come in black leather?"_

_Jenna found the catalog in the desk and paged through it quickly. "Sorry, no. Taupe, Ivory Beige, Mahogany, and Chartreuse."_

_"Chartreuse?"_

_" 'For the Andromedan who has almost everything'," Jenna read. She tossed the catalog aside._

_Avon had regained his breath and gotten to his hands and knees. He glared at Jenna and Travis impartially. "Why do I always have to be the victim?"_

_Jenna said, "I think it's got something to do with you being a right bastard."_

_Travis added, "Personally, I think it's the eyes. Big, soulful, brown eyes like those belong to your habitual victim. It's in the Federation Torturer's Manual."_

_"Oh, well, if it's in the book." Avon sat on the bed and ran his hand through his hair, giving himself an appealing, waif-like look. "How's that?"_

_"Quite nice," Travis said. He licked his lips. "I do enjoy a good victim. Be sure to moan and scream at appropriate intervals, won't you?" He climbed on to the bed, shoved Avon onto his back, picked up the other man's legs and prepared to thrust._

_"Hey! Wait a minute! What about me?" Jenna yelled. "I thought you were an officer and a gentleman."_

_"Where did you get that idea?" Travis asked. "Oh, all right." He pulled back and flipped Avon onto his stomach, then raised him to his hands and knees. "Scoot under."_

_"How romantic," Jenna said snidely._

_"You're a smuggler, he's an embezzler, I'm an out-of-work psychotic mass-murderer. Where does romance come into that?" Travis asked while working at Avon's genitals. "Do you want to do it, or don't you?"_

_"I want, I want." Avon was filling out his form following official guidelines, Jenna noted with approval. She crawled onto the bed beneath Avon and hitched her hips close to the target area, legs wide-spread for easy access. She wrapped her arms around Avon's torso, rubbing her breasts against his chest. The fur felt good against her skin and especially her nipples, so she continued to writhe. Avon lunged forward, but Travis held him back._

_"Not yet, you traitorous scum!" Travis roared, lining himself up for a strafing run. He hesitated, though, to actually carry it out. He was a bit nervous about this. It had been such a terribly long time and he wasn't entirely confident that Jenna's device would stand up under the long haul. He always prided himself on not falling apart in action._

_"Get on with it!" Avon yelled, totally out of patience._

_The command tone got through to Travis on the ingrained, instinctive level that Federation Boot Camp had beaten into him and several million other recruits. "Yes, Sir!" he shouted, saluting as his hips plunged forward._

_"Yipe!" Avon wasn't expecting to be obeyed so eagerly and he hadn't known that Travis's prosthetic included a heavy-duty vibrator. He occasionally liked fast and rough, but Travis was plowing the south forty in record time._

_"Atta boy, Travvie!" Jenna said, as Avon was forced into her aching void._

_"That's better," she moaned as she locked her ankles around Travis's waist. Attending Cally's calisthenic classes had been a good idea. Flexibility was an asset in personal interactions just as her mother always said._

_"Wait a minute!" Avon squalled as he was pumped forward and back entirely without any effort on his part. "What about foreplay?"_

_"What's that?" Travis panted, in honest confusion._

_"You know, kissing, petting, LUBRICATING!" Avon squawked._

_Jenna reached up and kissed Avon, running her hands over his nipples and around to his back. "He's new," Jenna said. "He'll learn."_

_"But will I survive to graduation?" Avon stiffened his arms and legs against the double-pronged attack. "OOOOHhhh," he moaned as Travis reached new depths and something else of Avon's stiffened even more._

_Jenna moaned in appreciation, rubbing her heels along Travis's crack to encourage him. "If you don't, it's a hell of a way to go."_

_Travis shuddered all over and grabbed Avon around the ribs so hard that he heard something creak. Then he fell forward and lay still, gasping._

_"Is that all?" Jenna demanded, just before Avon collapsed both inside and on top of her. "Avon!"_

_"Not my fault," Avon muttered. "He broke my ribs. I think my back, too." He whimpered. "And I didn't even get to come."_

_"TRAVIS! You've ruined everything." Abruptly, Jenna, the bold, brave, rebel gave way to Jenna, the frustrated woman. She burst into tears._

_Avon thought about it for an instant, then followed suit._

_"Don't do that!" Travis said, appalled. "Here, it's not so bad as all that." He pulled out of Avon and separated the two sobbing rebels. "Avon, your back is not broken." He handed the computer tech a tissue. "Stop snuffling. Your nose is getting red."_

_Avon blew. Something like a cross between the honk of a lusty Canadian goose and the horn on a transatlantic liner ensued._

_After a pause to allow her ears to stop ringing, Jenna also accepted a tissue. She used it with lesser sound effects. "Thanks. It's just so hard being a career woman. No one understands the pressures, the responsibility. All I wanted was a couple dozen screaming orgasms. Was that too much to ask?"_

_"Yes!" both Avon and Travis said, simultaneously._

_"Well, how about one!" She flung herself face down and began sobbing her heart out._

_"Now, look what you've done," Avon said. Watching Jenna, he'd forgotten his own unhappiness and tried to comfort her by patting her on the back. She growled and swiped at him with her claws. He pulled back hastily, counting fingers as he went. He looked at Travis. "Well? What are you going to do about that?" Avon accused._

_"Me? She's a rebel. You've got more in common with her than me."_

_"Oh, no, the two of you were made for each other. You've both been uselessly chasing Blake for years, neither of you will ever be more than a second banana while I'm around and you both wear tight, tacky  
outfits."_

_Jenna stopped crying. She rolled over and looked at Travis. Two minds with but a single thought. REVENGE._

_Avon stopped smirking. "Ah, Jenna, I only said all that to break your depression. Psychology, you understand. You can't be angry and depressed at the same time."_

_"It worked," Jenna said. "Travis, get the rope."_

_"NO!" Avon yelled, kicked, bit, scratched and clawed, but to no avail. The other two tied him up in a neat, compact, bundle with gaily colored ribbons at strategic points. Travis even donated a few leather straps to gag him and add decorative accents._

_Jenna surveyed the final result. "He looks good that way. But what shall we do with him now?"_

_"I have an idea." Travis retrieved his uniform and pulled out a small memo book. He began thumbing through the pages. "Perfect!" He snapped the book shut, grabbed Avon under the arms, and stalked out of the room._

_Jenna followed, curious. "Where are you taking him?"_

_"Do you care?"_

_Jenna thought back over the history she and Avon had shared. "No."_

_"That's what I thought." Travis loaded Avon onto an automated cargo loader and programmed it. The loader whizzed around a corner, carrying a disgruntled computer expert with it. "Happy Birthday, Commander," he called after it._

_"Servalan? You gave Avon to Servalan?" Jenna giggled. "Many Happy Returns," she yelled out, then put her hand over her mouth. "Oops. We don't really want him back, do we?"_

_Travis looked down at her and smiled. He held out his hand. She accepted and the two of them skipped merrily down the hall, heading back to their little lovenest._

_Servalan's door buzzer sounded. She ignored it. She was feeling very lonely and unwanted. She used to get birthday cards at least, even if not presents. Of course, she had killed most of the people who knew her birthday. But that didn't make her feel much better.The door buzzed again, breaking into her misery and making her angry instead. She stormed to the door._

_"What is it?" she demanded, "Can't a person have a private sulk around here?" But there was no one there able to answer her question. Only a cargo loader, holding out its order pad for her to sign and a large, lumpy object that squirmed when she prodded it experimentally. She looked closer. Under all the rope, ribbons, bows, and leather, the object was familiar. A wide grin spread slowly across her face. "Yes, I will accept this shipment. Deposit it in the bedroom, would you?"_

_The robot beeped and trundled stolidly forward. The bundle made outraged noises.  
Servalan posed against the door smiling, for an instant, before following. Unwrapping was fun, but so was anticipation. She paid off the robot after it deposited its burden on her bed and dismissed the machine._

_Avon's eyes were white-rimmed with panic and his jaws worked wildly. Servalan loosened the gag, then put her finger across Avon's lips. "Now, before you speak, bear this in mind. You are my prisoner. I can do anything I want to you." She opened a large steamer trunk marked 'Recreational Aids' and began inventorying the contents._

_Avon opened his mouth and ran his tongue around his lips. He swallowed nervously. "I can give you Travis."_

_Servalan nodded. "That's nice, dear." She held up a cat o' nine tails, and ran the oiled thongs sensuously through her fingers._

_"And Jenna."_

_"Um hum." Servalan put the whip back. Avon sighed in relief until he saw her remove a cattle prod, test its batteries, and lay it on the bed beside him._

_"I also know where Blake is. And Tarrant, Dayna and Vila."_

_"How nice. You could have a reunion, then. Later. Much later." She looked straight into his eyes. He shuddered, feeling cold sweat break out all over his body._

_"Cally, and Gan, too," he lied desperately._

_Servalan shook her head. "No, actually, you don't know where Gan is." She punched a few buttons on a monitor. The screen lit up, revealing a large, white-bandaged figure lying on a hospital bed in traction. "He wore out. But then he was only a Gamma- grade. I expect better from you, Avon."_

_"ORAC!"Avon screamed, as Servalan held up a probe so long she had to use both hands to support it._

_"I'll give you Orac!"_

_"Orac?" Servalan paused. Avon held his breath, hoping. "No," Servalan said decisively. "Maybe I'll let you give it to me later. When you're begging for more." She took out a Walmart, Sam's Favorite brand, jumbo-economy size jar of Alpha Lube and began using a pastry brush to spread it on the probe._

_Avon went even paler than normal. He squirmed inside his bonds like a caterpillar attempting to shed its chrysalis. "Why me? Why is it always me?" he moaned, as Servalan attached a dog collar and leash to his neck._

_"Why? Because we like you." Servalan clipped the leash to the headboard and began singing, "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-EEEEEEE!" She pulled out a moth-eaten, black felt Mouse Ear hat with her name embroidered on it in white and put it on. "Now, let's see, where did I put it? Ah." She pulled out another Mouse Hat. This one was embroidered 'Kerr'._

_"No," Avon moaned as she slipped the hat onto his head. "I told Mother to throw that away!"_

_"She sold it to me. Along with all your baby pictures."_

_"Even the one of me and Fluffy?"_

_"Better than that." Servalan pulled a large, dirty brown teddy bear out of the stack. "Here's Fluffy!" The bear was dressed in black leather and had a nervous look on its furry face. Avon knew just how it felt._

_Servalan finished tying Avon's arms and legs to the corners of the bed. She removed Travis's gift-wrapping, chuckling over each bow. "Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday, Dear Supreme Commander, Happy Birthday to me." She smiled. "Now to blow out the candle and make a wish." She pursed her lips and blew, then looked down at Avon's 'candle'. "Well, what do you know? My wish came true."  
_

"Vila, Dayna, Tarrant, come to the medical unit! Hurry!" Cally worked frantically over Avon's body. He was in spasms, arched up on heels and the back of his head, screaming so loudly she wasn't sure the others could hear her. She shot another tranquilizer into Avon, but it had the same effect as the two previous injections- none. He was dying of sheer terror, trapped in a nightmare. She heard the others come pounding into the room. There was no time for explanations."I'm going to initiate another sequence and then drop out. You three will have to get him through this without me." She dropped the injector, snatched another and pumped it into Avon's neck. His grimace eased and he settled onto the bed, gasping for air. "Quickly, while he is momentarily stable!"

 

She grabbed Avon's head and thrust herself into his dream. She felt the others slide in before she broke free and returned to the medical unit. She blinked, then pulled Dayna, Vila and Tarrant into more comfortable positions half-sitting against the wall. She would have preferred to lay them in the other cots, but there was no time. Even in those few seconds, Avon's heartrate became erratic. She dove for the stimulants, praying the others could save Avon.

_  
Tarrant got out of bed. "Dayna, Vila?"_

_"I'm here." Dayna stood up, shakily. "Either Vila didn't make it or he's somewhere else. What about Avon?"_

_"I don't know. Usually, I was with him from the start."_

_"We can find him, can't we, Tarrant?"_

_"Yes, of course we can," Tarrant said, thinking furiously. "We should have some control over the dream while we're in it this deep."_

_Dayna squinted her eyes shut. "Avon, I want to be with Avon!"_

_"It doesn't work that way. We have to ... wait," he rummaged in the ubiquitous desk. "Remember, whenever we needed something it was in this desk?" He picked up a small electronic device. "A tracker," he breathed. The small device was chirping brightly, a silver arrow marked 'K.A.' blinking steadily. "He's close." He reached out and grabbed Dayna by the arm. "Come on, let's get him!"He half-dragged her into the hallway. The door slammed behind them with a decisive, self-locking click._

_"Er, Tarrant?" Dayna tugged at Tarrant's arm, then punched him in the shoulder ._

_"Ow!" Tarrant stopped and turned to her, rubbing his shoulder and frowning. "Quit fooling around. We've got to find Avon fast."_

_"Yes, but I think we're a bit conspicuous," she said, patting him intimately. They were both naked. In the dream world that meant you were vulnerable. They felt dozens of hungry eyes upon them- Avon's enemies, no doubt. Doors were opening all along the corridor._

_Tarrant's eyes widened. "Oops." He whirled, feeling eyes on the back of his head. "Eek," he said softly, as Dayna was already back at their room, trying the door._

_"No good," she panted after kicking uselessly - and painfully as her feet were as bare as the rest of her - at the door._

_Ever resourceful, Tarrant strode to the end of the corridor, ripping down the curtains shielding the lone window. The fabric was dusty and a horrid shade of bruised pumpkin, but this was no time to be picky. He tossed one length of the fabric to Dayna, then wrapped the remaining piece around himself in an improvised garment, tied at the waist with the draw cord from the blinds beneath the curtain._

_"Toga party!" came the cry from more degenerate-looking members of the audience. Several Travis's blinked their lone eyes and grinned lecherously._

_"Help!" Tarrant cried, as two of the Travis's reached him, each grabbing a leg, just before the rest of the crowd swarmed over him and Dayna._

_"Make a wish!" the Travis on Tarrant's left leg said to the Travis on his right leg._

_"Now, that's enough of that," came a deep, solemn voice. Tarrant looked up in gratitude as Gan came up the hallway and began plucking admirers off him. Gan had obviously been occupied elsewhere as he was only wearing a pair of skin-tight, red silk briefs, and was accompanied by an even larger man. Tarrant looked at Gan's friend, who was casually heaving lust-maddened characters randomly against the walls, leaving dented plaster in his wake. Gan's buddy was even larger than Gan, and also wearing a pair of silk briefs, but in emerald green, which matched his skin._

_Tarrant said, quietly, "He's not human, is he?"_

_Gan shrugged. "It's not easy for someone my size to find a date. Bruce- I mean Robert," Gan called, then he sighed as the other man continued shot-putting folks. "Poor fellow, they kept changing his mind and his body and even his name around. It's no wonder he's confused." He raised his voice. "Yo, Hulkster! The brownies must be done by now."_

_The green man turned, flashed a smile at Tarrant and growled, "Nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the oven." He strode over to Gan, tossed the rebel over his shoulder and leaped, crashing directly through a wall as Gan waved goodbye._

_"Well," Tarrant said, weakly._

_Dayna dusted herself off, surveyed the groaning, moaning collection of bodies and said, "Let's go, while we can."_

_"Yes," Tarrant said, still staring at the settling dust where a wall used to be._

_Dayna took him by the arm and began leading him toward the lift. She had  
retrieved the stud-finder from where he'd dropped it and was relieved to see it was functioning._

_Two floors up, Tarrant's eyes focused. "Is that sort of thing likely to happen again?" he asked piteously._

_"Probably." Dayna said grimly. "Avon's going mad."_

_Tarrant shook his head, creating a cloud of plaster dust. "Unless we find Avon in time. Before we're all eaten by hairy aliens."_

_"Now you sound like Vila," Dayna scolded._

_"I'm beginning to appreciate his point of view." Tarrant tried to adjust his toga more securely, then gave up. It wasn't as if it was likely he'd be allowed to wear it for very long. "I'm not used to public humiliation."_

_The tracking device began beeping madly._

_"Our floor," Dayna said brightly. The lift doors opened and she bounced out._

_Tarrant followed, warily._

_This floor of the building had plush carpets, velvet-flocked wallpaper and incredibly high ceilings sporting crystal chandeliers at regular intervals. "Alpha level, I'd guess," he said, pausing to admire a huge marble nude set in a niche in the wall. He read the brass plate at the base. " 'Michaelangelo's Young David'."Dayna was staring at the statue, in the general vicinity of where a fig leaf wasn't._

_Tarrant took back the stud-finder and marched resolutely onward. Two doors down the device chirped, wailed, and quacked, loudly, before going blank and silent. "I guess this is it."_

_"Well, what are you waiting for?" Dayna reached past him, then paused herself as she noticed the placard affixed to the door. " 'Beware of the leopard'? What does that mean?"A loud snarl coming from inside the room answered her question._

_"Oh," she said, blankly. "Avon? Are you in there?"_

_"Yes!" came a sharp cry, followed by, "Ouch! Keep your claws off!"_

_"No, Dayna!" Tarrant tried to reason with her, but it was impossible. He closed his eyes in horror as she pushed him out of the way and reached for the doorknob._

_Dayna flung the door open and ran in, hands raised and teeth bared. "Yipe!" she yelled._

_Tarrant opened his eyes, expecting the worst. And wasn't disappointed. Avon was lying spread-eagled on a white satin-covered bed, his outstretched limbs secured by white velvet ropes. A predator with long, sharp talons was draped artistically over him, scratching idly at his quivering belly._

_Servalan stretched and said sharply,"Go away."_

_"We came for Avon," Dayna said, stepping forward._

_Servalan reached somehow into the skin-tight fabric of her leopard-spotted catsuit, and produced a small but lethal -looking weapon. "He's mine."_

_"Perhaps we can make some sort of deal," Tarrant said._

_Servalan considered. She looked Tarrant up and down, studying the folds and bulges of his improvised toga. "You might stay," she conceded. "If you are ready to be useful as well as decorative."_

_Dayna crouched, fury in her eyes. "Why don't I just kill you?"_

_"Why?" Servalan asked, puzzled._

_"For starters, you killed my father!"_

_Servalan's large golden eyes were wide and innocent. "It wasn't me. You must remember, my dear, I am not your Servalan. I've killed no one. I'm only part of Avon's mind. The part that has confused lust and hostility and love. "_

_"How can we save Avon?" Tarrant asked, realizing that 'Servalan' was right. Whatever they saw, they were dealing with Avon._

_"Let me kill her," Dayna said._

_Tarrant put out his arm. "You'll be killing Avon. This conflict is what's killing him. To save Avon, we have to make him accept himself. All of himself. Even the rage, and the lust for her."_

_Dayna thought about it for a moment, trembling with anger, then relaxed. "And you think we need to make love with Servalan to do that?"_

_"I think it's the only way." Tarrant shut the door, prudently locking it against any party crashers and then dropped his own garment to the floor._

_Dayna shook her head. "If I keep telling myself it's really Avon, maybe I can do it."_

_Servalan smiled and handed Dayna the gun. "It's only a stun weapon," she said. "He didn't really want you hurt."_

_That helped. Tarrant put out his hands to the women and they turned toward the bed._

_"Wait!" Avon said, desperately, seeing the three of them close in on him. "What about me? Don't I have any say in this?"_

_"No!" came the chorus. Dayna, Servalan and Tarrant exchanged glances and laughed._

_Avon growled, "I am an Alpha, a rebel leader, captain of my own ship, a technical genius unmatched since Ensor. No one commands me!"_

_Servalan looked at Dayna. "He's cute when he pouts, isn't he?"_

_"Cute!" Avon snarled and wrenched at the velvet cords, ripping his arms free. He sat up and pounced on Servalan, bearing her down to the satin covered mattress._

_She smiled up at him, totally unimpressed. "Why didn't you do that before?" she asked mildly, walking her fingers up his chest._

_"I wasn't sufficiently motivated." He bared his teeth. "After all, what's a little bondage between old friends?"_

_"I'm glad you feel that way," Tarrant said from behind the entwined pair. He caught the dangling velvet cords and retied them, pulling Avon's hands behind his back. Avon tried to kick Tarrant, but since he hadn't broken the cords around his ankles all that he accomplished was to tangle himself up further and squash Servalan when he lost his balance. Tarrant was amused by Avon's colorful objections and stood there listening, mentally filing away some of the more unique phrases for the next time he was cut off in space traffic._

_"Tarrant," Dayna asked after a few minutes, "do you think Servalan can breathe? Not that it matters, really."_

_Tarrant lifted Avon by the shoulder and tugged Servalan clear. She staggered away from the bed, holding her bruised ribs and coughing. After she caught her breath, she said, "That was not amusing."_

_"I thought it was," Dayna said, unrepentantly._

_"And more to the point," Servalan added, "it wasn't what Avon needs."_

_"That's true," Dayna admitted. "What do you have in mind?"_

_"Come closer," Servalan said, in a low voice, so only Dayna heard. Tarrant was sitting on the bed, trying to talk Avon into a more cooperative frame of mind. Avon resented Tarrant's calm soothing tones. He was getting angrier by the moment._

_"I also have a set of velvet ropes in blue," Servalan whispered. Her eyes wandered over to Tarrant._

_"Don't you think Avon needs a companion in adversity? Someone he can empathize with?"_

_Dayna snatched Servalan's handgun away, before the other woman could turn it on her crew mate._

_"Tarrant!" she shouted, "look out!"_

_He whirled, surprised. The stun gun whined and he crumpled, falling across the bed to land athwart Avon's legs._

_Avon lifted his head and stared at the two women, startled out of his outraged monologue._

_Dayna mimed blowing smoke from the muzzle of the stun gun and then tossed it aside. "I like to give my prey a sporting chance," she informed Servalan. "It makes the hunt more exciting."_

_"Well," Servalan said, as they moved over to the bed and worked together to tug the lean length of pilot further onto the bed, "in that case, you might have given him a bit more warning."_

_"A sporting chance is one thing, losing the game is something else altogether."_

_The two women's eyes met and a look of perfect understanding seared the air between them. Either that, or it may have been lust. They turned as one to the sex toys. Dayna picked up a long, braided - leather whip, while Servalan fondled a battery operated dildo guaranteed to be an exact replica of the currently biggest, in every sense of the word, porn star in the Federation. She turned it on and the object began writhing, like the bait on an enormous fishhook._

_Avon's eyes darkened, widening in panic. Hastily he cleared his throat. "Er, on further consideration I am willing to cooperate."_

_"And do anything we say?" Dayna asked._

_Avon nodded, his eyes flicking from the bullwhip to the dildo and back. "Once you untie me."_

_"No, I don't think so," Servalan said. She moved closer, and rested the dildo on Avon's buttocks, letting it wriggle and squirm along his crack. "You must learn to trust us."_

_He gritted his teeth and maintained a level tone as he turned his gaze on Dayna. "You aren't going to let her abuse me, are you?"_

_"Why? Would you rather I did it?" Dayna asked._

_Appalled, Avon shuddered. The dildo moved, touching his arsehole and he shrieked in sudden terror, jerking in his bonds, and then went still. Dayna came close and peeled back Avon's left eyelid."Nobody's home," she announced, worried._

_"Bother," Servalan said, turning off the dildo. "Happens every time." She shrugged and put the device back in the desk drawer. "He's trying to avoid coming to terms with what I represent. We can not allow that. He must accept or there will be no healing. I know it is difficult for you, but you must help me subjugate Avon, demonstrate love in the only way he can presently accept. Even if we must rape him."_

_"Rape him? How will that help?"_

_"The rape itself will not. But becoming part of me, will. If you can not love yourself, who can you love?"_

_Dayna nodded. "It had better work." She untied Avon's ankles and flipped him over onto his back, pulling him to one side to make room for Tarrant._

_Servalan fetched the promised blue velvet ropes. After some discussion, they had the unconscious men arranged flat on their backs, side by side, trussed securely to each other and the bed. Avon still showed no sign of regaining consciousness and Tarrant was out for the count, so they settled down to wait. As it was getting chilly with no temperature-raising activity likely in the near future, Servalan got out a pair of robes, one for herself in white, maribou-trimmed satin and a purple paisley monstrosity for Dayna, as payback for the purple dress Dayna had once lent her. Dayna caught the joke and donned the robe in good-humored acceptance._

_"Shall we send for some food?" Servalan asked._

_"Why?" Dayna frowned. "How will that help?"_

_"I'm not sure," Servalan admitted, "but the fact that I have thought of it means Avon has something in mind. He is not suicidal, despite what Orac may say. He will try to help you through me." Servalan rummaged in the desk and found a gold-foil menu. "Let's see. Champagne. Caviar. Filet Mignon. Lobster Bisque. Is there anything there that Avon might expect you to order?"_

_Dayna glanced at the menu. "Oooh. Godiva chocolates." She sighed. "I saw them in space-order catalogs from time to time, but we could never afford the postage."_

_Servalan smiled indulgently. "Ah, yes, the simple pleasures of poverty. Now you see why I prefer wealth."_

_"Money can't buy everything," Dayna said, defensively._

_"True." Servalan's eyes roved over the bodies of the bound men. "But it can buy most things." She leaned forward to pick up the visphone. "For example, I can have the five pound box of Godivas sent up along with some Peak Freans Sweetmeal Biscuits and a nice pot of tea. Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Oolong?" she asked, but Dayna just shook her head, puzzled. "You are so refreshing, my dear. Totally unsophisticated. Very well, Lipton it is." Servalan dialed and gave the order, along with an unspecified threat of bodily harm if it wasn't delivered promptly._

_The knock came in less than three minutes. When Dayna opened the door, an obsequious trooper in a baggy uniform entered, cringing. He pushed a laden cart ahead of him into the room._

_Servalan rose gracefully to her feet and plucked a Godiva from the heaping assortment artistically arranged on a silver tray. "Interesting." Her eyebrows rose as she sampled it. "This is a new flavor. I thought I knew them all."_

_Dayna ate one, and her eyebrows rose. "It's very tasty." She and Servalan hovered over the small table, gobbling down the chocolates with the carefree ease of people who know they can never get fat. The trooper stood and watched._

_After a few minutes, Servalan looked up. "Why are you still here?"_

_The trooper lifted his head and removed his helmet._

_"Vila!" Dayna choked on a chocolate. "Where did you come from?"_

_"And how quickly can you get back there?" Servalan asked._

_Vila cringed as Servalan approached, hands crooked to claw. He crossed his arms in front of his face, but held his ground. "Wait! Wait! Let me explain!"_

_"It had better be good," Dayna said. She was getting very impatient. If they didn't get to the sex scene soon, she was going to scream._

_"It had also better be quick," Servalan added. Her urges were beginning to overwhelm her, too. In fact, it felt quite a lot like the time that vulpine degenerate Krantor had slipped her a patake cake. Her eyes went wide and blazed with fury as she realized why her libido had suddenly gone from a pleasant itch to an uncontrollable fire. "Vila, you disgusting little vermin! You dosed the Godivas with aphrodisiacs!"_

_"And I'm the only conscious man in the room," Vila remarked, lowering his arms, cautiously._

_"Not for long," Dayna snarled, moving in for the kill, but Servalan got between them._

_"A moment, Dayna. Vila," Servalan purred, "that was incredibly vile, underhanded, and morally corrupt. Are you certain you aren't an Alpha?"_

_"Alpha, Alpha, Alpha, that's all I ever hear," Vila grumbled. "D'ya know that while Alphas are studying their little high-class brains out, we Deltas are screwing like bunnies? What do you want with those toffs, anyway? When you need your pipes cleaned, don't you send for a plumber?"_

_"Elegantly put, Vila," Dayna said._

_"But he's right," Servalan remarked. "Avon is not truly unconscious and unaware. He is using Vila to test us. If Vila can love us, Avon will know it is safe to love us. He does believe in Vila's survival sense."_

_Servalan ran her hands along the center of Vila's Federation uniform, finding and undoing fasteners all along the way._

_"Oh, all right," Dayna said, "but I'm not going to enjoy myself." At that moment, Servalan's manipulations succeeded in lowering Vila's trousers, revealing his lack of underwear and overabundance of everything else. "On second thought," she said, licking her lips, "I've always been fond of you, Vila."_

_"See, I told you I'd grow on you," Vila said, smugly, as Servalan knelt at his feet and engulfed his penis with her soft, red lips. "Oooooooh," he said, knees buckling as she demonstrated one of the skills she'd perfected in her rise to power._

_"I'd prefer you to grow in me," Servalan said, pulling off for an instant before she returned to the attack with renewed vigor._

_Vila found himself flat on his back in the dense, plush carpet with Servalan still attached, leech-like, to his groin. "Oh, oh, oh, wait!" he yelled. Delta quickies were one thing, but Servalan was about to suck him into outer space without benefit of a suit. He did like a bit of foreplay. A few seconds worth, at least._

_"I didn't get where I am by waiting!" Servalan snapped as she flung off her maribou-trimmed robe, revealing her leopard catsuit. From his angle, Vila could see that the garment was crotchless, but he had to look quick, for Servalan lifted herself up and mounted him, guiding his erection into herself with one hand, the other being occupied with clawing at his buttocks._

_"Eeeeee!" Vila yelled as she slid up and down his aching pole, her thighs as strong as any experienced equestrienne. Servalan had done a lot of riding, although she'd never seen a horse._

_Dayna was feeling left out, but the sight of Vila's flushed face and pinkly protruding tongue gave her an idea. She tossed off her paisley velour mutation with relief and crouched over Vila, settling astride his shoulders. She looked down into his frantic face and grinned. "You're always mouthing off. Let's see how good you really are." She wriggled forward until his nose was buried in her pubic hair, tickling as it pressed against her nether lips. "Ah."_

_Vila made a protesting noise and Dayna lifted up slightly. "Well, if you don't want to, I suppose I could try to wake Avon." She put on a considering look. "He'd probably be better than you anyway." She giggled, thinking of Avon's nose where Vila's was at the moment._

_"No!" Vila squawked. It was meant to be a shout, but Servalan was pumping fiercely, raising his octane and octaves at the same time. "I can do anything he can! Better!"_

_"Fine." Dayna lowered herself back into place, sighing as Vila began exploring, tongue licking deep inside and mobile lips sucking her clitoris as if it were a juicy peach. "Ooh, just like that Vila. Um, yes." She arched her back._

_Buried beneath an avalanche of predatory female flesh, Vila began to wonder if he'd been quite so clever as he'd thought. Servalan clenched greedily at his cock, both hands now digging into his tender rump while Dayna clutched at his head, running her fingers through his hair and incidentally pulling some of it  
out. _

_Servalan buried her nails and he yelled, muffled by Dayna, as Servalan climaxed, squeezing him into an automatic orgasm as his abused flesh gave up the fight. Dayna clamped her thighs around his head until he thought his eardrums would burst from the pressure. She thrust her hips, rubbing his nose against her G-spot until he sneezed, the force of the convulsion driving his poor, sore nose directly into the primary source of her excitement. She screamed and wrapped herself around him, only relaxing when Servalan poked her in the back._

_"What?" Dayna muttered, reluctant to move._

_"Dayna, dear, unless you actually intend to kill him, it might be as well to get off now."_

_"Oops." Dayna rose and looked down at Vila, concerned. He was gasping and wild-eyed, tangled in the remnants of a Federation uniform, totally limp and enervated, obviously without a single coherent thought in his head. "He's all right," she decided. "He always looks like that." She stretched and said to Servalan, "Well, that was nice for starters."_

_Servalan agreed. She looked over at the bed and the two motionless figures on it. "That stun effect should have dissipated by now. And I really don't believe a faint lasts this long, either." She stalked over to the bed. "Avon! Tarrant! We know you're awake!"_

_Avon's eyes opened slowly, burning into hers with total loathing and absolute disgust. "Ah, now you have done it, Servalan. I shall never cooperate with you in any way."_

_"Me neither," said Tarrant, also looking at her in disapproval._

_Servalan stared at them in surprise. "Why, what have I done?"_

_"I always knew you were merciless..."_

_"Corrupt..." Tarrant added._

_"tasteless..." Avon put in. Servalan made a moue at that."vindictive..." Tarrant added, ignoring Avon's scowl at the constant interruption."degenerate, and," Avon glared full-force at Tarrant, "And," Avon repeated, "totally shameless, but I had thought you retained a vestigial sense of civilized decency. You've proved me wrong. Anyone who could be so cruel, heartless and sadistic doesn't deserve to live, let alone get to play with me."_

_"Cruel, heartless and sadistic?" Tarrant was confused. "For fooling around with Vila?"_

_"Everyone fools around with Vila," Avon said. "He doesn't count."_

_Dayna came around to his side of the bed and started licking in Tarrant's ear. After a few uncomfortable moments, he decided he liked it. "Oh, all right, I forgive you. Servalan led you astray. You are only an innocent girl, after all." Dayna giggled while Servalan chuckled. Avon rolled his eyes. "Children," he said under his breath, "Always going on about trivia. Who cares who sleeps with whom?"_

_"Well, why are you angry, then?" Servalan said, impatiently. Vila hadn't begun to take the edge off her appetite. Hmm, appetite?_

_"I don't wish to discuss it with you," Avon said, all cool, affronted dignity. A good trick actually, as Dayna had crawled onto Tarrant and was kissing him into submission right beside Avon._

_"Is it perhaps something that you don't get very often?" Servalan said softly, heading back toward the serving cart, stepping over the prone and moaning Vila. "Something that you've had to do without ever since leaving your mother's home?"_

_Avon shut his eyes and groaned as Servalan reached a negligent hand over the cart and paused._

_"If you want it, Avon, you'll have to say it. Come now, it's not that difficult. You can do it," she urged._

_Avon swallowed. He shook his head. "No. No, I could never say it."  
"Yes, you can. Try. Try for me."_

_Avon shook his head. He trembled all over, gritted his teeth, and finally, with a supreme effort, ripped himself out of the jack-booted, leather-clad, blaster-toting image he'd been sewn into, and yelled, "I want my Cuppa!"_

_"Good boy. I'll be Mother, shall I? One lump or two?" Servalan poured a steaming, golden stream of aromatic tea into a generous English - breakfast - size teacup._

_Avon winced at the word, 'lump'. He'd been whacked upside the head so many times that he wasn't quite sure how he liked his tea. "Whatever you think best."_

_"Oh, an agreeable Avon. I think I'm going to enjoy this." She prepared the tea and arranged a few biscuits on a plate. "This may be a problem," she said, returning to the bed. Short of her pouring the tea down his throat, there wasn't any way for Avon to drink in his current pose._

_"Untie me," Avon said, hands twitching spasmodically as she set the tea down at the bedside table, tantalizingly near._

_"You'll be good?"_

_"I'll be better than that."_

_Servalan tilted her head to one side, then nodded. "We'll see." She untied his ankles and then his wrists._

_Avon sat up slowly, then lunged for her. She stepped back, watching with amusement as he came up against the remaining tether joining him and Tarrant by the waists, lost his balance and fell over the side of the bed, dangling headfirst. Tarrant was dragged over, stretching his long limbs painfully against his bonds with Dayna still partially atop him, both of them ending up pinning Avon in place._

_"Do you call that being good?" Servalan asked sweetly._

_"If it had succeeded, it would have been better than good. Anything that succeeds is, by definition, the best." Avon managed to raise his head to glare at her. His head was about all he could move._

_Servalan studied the situation, winking at Dayna who was cheerfully sitting on Tarrant and getting in an occasional grope at Avon's buns. "Oh, of course!" Servalan turned and glided gracefully back to the tea-cart. "You just need a little attitude adjustment, Avon." She piled a handful of Godivas on a plate and returned to the bed, kneeling on the floor beside Avon. "Open wide," she said, holding a chocolate in front of his mouth._

_"No," Avon said and she shoved a chocolate in, closing his jaw around it._

_"Either you swallow that, or I will be very annoyed with you. Godivas are too expensive to spit out on the carpet."_

_Avon swallowed in order to protest, "What do I care what they cost?"_

_"Oh, my mistake," Servalan said, sweetly. "You are ever so much more clever than I am."_

_Avon sputtered and was fed another chocolate. This time Servalan followed it by offering him a sip of tea. Lipton fumes curling around his nostrils, Avon bent his head and surrendered, gulping at the hot brew._

_"Excellent." Servalan patted him on the head and pushed another Godiva between his teeth. Already beginning to feel the effects, he didn't even try to bite her. When his pupils were the size of tenth-credit pieces, leaving only a thin line of brown iris around, she decided he'd had enough. The fact that he was trying to hump the side of the bed was also another clue._

_"That worked quite well," Dayna said, noticing how quickly Avon had gone from cursing to whimpering._

_She got off Tarrant's chest and went for the chocolate tray herself. "Lucky you ordered the five pound box," she said while mounding a pile of little naked horsewomen on a plate._

_"Dayna!" Tarrant protested as he saw her coming back with an evil gleam in her eye and chocolate-sticky fingers outstretched. She'd had a couple more herself and was breathing heavily. "That's not necessary," he said, turning his head to evade the chocolate she aimed at his mouth._

_Dayna stroked his perky peter with one hand and said, "I know. But it's only fair."_

_In horror, he snapped his head from side to side, but she was persistent and the melting chocolate found its way in. "No, no," he moaned, looking miserable, chocolate smeared all around his mouth._

_"It's only a little aphrodisiac! Don't be such a baby!"_

_"It's not that," Tarrant wailed. "It's my teeth! If I get cavities, how will I ever out-smile Avon again?"_

_Dayna put her hands around his head to hold him still and kissed him. She ran her tongue around inside his mouth, licking every drop of chocolate off his pearly whites. "There, now, all better."_

_"Maybe." He looked a bit worried, still. "Do you think there's a toothbrush in the bath?"_

_Vila had revived by this time and was sitting on the floor, watching Servalan and Dayna at work. He shook his head. "Alpha neurotics. The stories I could tell." He grinned. "Poor Cally and Jenna. They got awful tired waiting for the 'big boys' to quit probing Federation defenses and start probing something else. Left me a clear field."_

_Servalan glanced up, interested. "You were able to keep both the smuggler and the Auron content, all by yourself? I am impressed."_

_Vila looked smug, putting his hands behind his head. "Why do you think I was always so tired on the flight deck?"_

_Avon stiffened. In more ways than one. He cleared his throat. "You two seem to be hitting it off. Perhaps Vila would care to take my place?"_

_"Don't be jealous, Avon. Green really isn't your best color." Servalan got tired of teasing him and helped Dayna slide Tarrant back to the other side of the bed. The Godivas had done an excellent job of softening resistance and firming convictions, but the women left the waist cord binding both men as a precaution against last-minute changes of mind. You never could tell when an Alpha might start thinking at just the wrong moment._

_Avon lay rumpled and sullen, staring up at Servalan. "You do realize," he said, as he reached up to fondle her breasts through the convenient nipple-flaps in her leopard catsuit, "this is a fore-doomed relationship, an entirely meaningless exercise. Utterly without..." He shut up as she leaned forward to stuff one breast into his mouth._

_"Yes," she cried, reversing herself to lean back against the warm fullness of a very upstanding rebel technician. "I understand perfectly." She squeezed him between her hinder cheeks, making him jerk and twitch. "Purely physical gratification. No emotional response at all. Ah. I think I can live with that." She moved back, abruptly sliding him into launch position. "And if you want to live with it, you had better please me."_

_Avon grinned. "That's better. I didn't recognize you without the threats." He began thrusting, slowly, a line of concentration forming between his brows. Beads of sweat testified to the control he was exerting not to come immediately._

_Tarrant looked up at Dayna. "And he calls me precipitous," he said.  
"Oh, a contest!" Dayna smiled. "Last one to come wins," she said, quickly fitting herself to Tarrant's excitement._

_"What...do I get... when I win?" Tarrant asked, grunting with effort as he pushed up into her warmth._

_"What do you mean..." gasped Avon, who was pumping quite hard on the other side of the bed, "when you win?_

_"I'm younger..." gasped Tarrant, "and more fit." He gulped air and ran his hands up Dayna's flanks, possessively. "And bigger, too," he added, having sneaked a peak at Avon just before Servalan mounted her trophy - er, partner._

_"Mouth isn't everything," Avon got out before Servalan glared at him and he devoted his attention to reaming her out properly.Since the men were still tied at the waist they kept jerking each other off stride. When this happened for the third time Servalan fell against Dayna, clutching the other woman for balance._

_"A little cooperation...is in order," Servalan said._

_Dayna was surprised to find herself agreeing with her old enemy. She told Tarrant, "Stop fighting Avon."_

_"What! Never!" Tarrant snapped._

_"Avon!" Servalan warned, but the stubborn set to his lips told her he wasn't listening. She gave Avon a smile which nearly froze his heart. "I will not be flouted," she said and conjured a needle-sharp stiletto out of thin air. Or maybe from between her ample bosoms; Avon went cross-eyed looking and he couldn't tell. She leaned forward and Avon cringed as the blade swept down, slicing. "There, that's better," she said and flicked the knife back into hiding._

_Avon took a deep breath and the severed velvet rope parted. "Much better," he growled, rolling over to put Servalan in her place. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clawed at his back._

_"Yes, yes, YES!" she cried. And again, "Yes!"_

_Avon looked down at her, eyes narrowed in distaste. "This is not a Space Romance novel," he pointed out while continuing to hump._

_"Oh, all right." Servalan dug her claws into his flanks and screamed, "Move it, Buster!"_

_"Buster?" Avon's eyebrows tried to climb into his scalp. He slowed, annoyed._

_"Will you just get on with it, before I call Travis?"_

_"You could let someone else get a word in," Tarrant grumbled. "You'd think you two were the only ones screwing around." He had taken advantage of his freedom, and was on top of Dayna, going at it like mad. Dayna was squealing happily._

_"Travis!" Avon snorted, having, as usual, totally ignored Tarrant's objections, "Who'd want half a man,when they could have me?" he said, his natural modesty slipping just a trifle._

_"Not... half where it counted. I had...ooh... a 'hand' in his rebuilding, Avon." Servalan grinned. "As long as he was going... to be serving under... me, I wanted service... with a smile. Mine. EEEEEE-ahhhh," Servalan wailed and moaned, clenched around Avon with every muscle she possessed and then flopped back on the satin sheets with a tremendously wide and silly smile on her face._

_Avon grinned and kept thrusting._

_Dayna shouted and came, squeezing Tarrant unmercifully. With a screech of combined pain and pleasure, he gave up the fight and orgasmed. He collapsed onto Dayna, who shoved him to one side after a long moment._

_Avon grinned and kept thrusting._

_Dayna was bemusedly combing her fingers through Tarrant's curly locks and he winced, gently guiding her fingers away from his tender crotch. "Doesn't he get tired?" Tarrant complained to Vila, who had wandered over while they were all too busy to notice him._

_Avon grinned and kept thrusting._

_Vila popped another Godiva in his mouth and washed it down with a healthy gulp of Lipton. "He likes to win." Vila sighed and watched Avon in action, his eyes bouncing like a tennis ball at Wimbledon._

_At that moment, Avon froze in position, groaned and thrust several more times, even faster than before, shouting as he climaxed. He pulled out of Servalan and looked down at the dazed, supremely satisfied, Supreme Commander and smirked. Panting, he got out of the bed, and arrogantly reached for the cup of tea Vila was holding._

_"Corpse-reviver?" he said, in an infuriatingly smug tone before he swigged._

_The door opened and Avon looked up, gasped and choked on the tea when he saw who had entered._

_Tarrant reached over and helpfully whacked Avon on the back. Avon dropped the cup and, sputtering in terror, fell to the floor._

_"No! No, it can't be." Avon crawled, trying to get under the bed, but his nemesis reached him first._

_"Kerrcourt Fenton Avon! Get back here right this instant!" Avon's companions stared in horror. Anna had been quite a nice-looking woman, they had thought; nothing spectacular, but presentable. This version of her had her head covered in spiky metal rollers wrapped in a Pepto-Bismol-pink turban, with bits of hair sticking out all over. Her cheeks and forehead were slathered in an Avocado beauty masque, and she was wearing fuzzy pink slippers covered with dog hair and a snap-front housecoat printed with off-register pink and brown daisies, discolored by Clairol number 104 run-off._

_Avon whimpered and managed to get halfway under the bed._

_"You're not getting away with it, Mister I can go see the universe any time I like! You were supposed to come right back! A loaf of rye bread, a dozen eggs and a quart of low-fat! It takes you three years to get back from the grocery?" She was hauling on Avon's legs with surprising strength. Tarrant reached forward, but she turned and gave him a glare that put Avon's worst to shame. Tarrant fell back, making whipped puppy noises, afraid the Gorgon had turned him to stone. Dayna and Servalan were standing behind him, clinging to each other and trembling in fear. Vila tugged on Tarrant's arm. "Let's get out before it's too late."_

_"She's only one... woman?" Tarrant said, trying to bolster his courage._

_"No, she's not," Vila warned, pointing to a medallion hanging between Anna's thin and pointy breasts._

_Tarrant gasped. "One... hundred... and seventy three?" he said weakly._

_Avon must have heard him, for a wail like a terrified child rose from beneath the bed. Anna # 173 hauled Avon out, got a good grip on his short and curlies and forced him prone on the bed. "You owe me three years worth!" she snarled, and leaped upon his body, groping him in a cruel parody of love-making._

_Avon stopped fighting and lay there, trembling while she stroked him roughly, forcing a response from his unwilling body. Anna's lips peeled back to expose long, yellowed fangs. "Fangs for the memories," she said, head lowered, so that her teeth were scraping the tender skin of Avon's neck._

_"You always wanted to put the bite on me, didn't you?" Avon said._

_"Why shouldn't I? You're mine, you'll always be mine. You're too cold a fish for anyone else." The fangs touched, pressed in just enough to dimple the skin._

_"That's not true!" Dayna screamed. "He's hot, and he's ours!"_

_"You love him?" Anna said, mocking. "Then do you love her?" she said, indicating Servalan._

_"Yes," Dayna said, fiercely, striding forward to embrace Servalan, her enemy. She kissed her. "I love you," she said, meaning it. She turned to face Anna."And we love him." She held out her hands. A slender, long-nailed hand slipped into her left hand, while Tarrant's stronger, larger hand filled her right._

_"He's a right bastard," Tarrant said._

_"But he's our bastard," Vila finished as he joined them._

_"We will not give him up," they said in unison, four speaking and moving as one toward the bed._

_"But I am him, too. Can you accept a murderering, selfish, back-stabbing, arrogant..." They nodded as they recognized some of Avon's finer qualities._

_Vila interrupted her, saying,"Nobody's perfect."_

_Anna's face softened, the harpy melting, changing until she was the image of the woman they had met in a very old cellar. She moved slowly, sensuously atop Avon now. She mounted him, and rode gently. "Do you accept me, Avon?"_

_"Oh, yes. It seems I do," Avon whispered, putting his hands up to cup her face. Anna put her hands over Avon's, and his orgasm, when it came, engulfed them all.  
_

The med-unit was still cool, antiseptic, and impersonal. Which was more than could be said for the quartet panting on the floor, returned abruptly to their bodies.

Tarrant wiped his face with the back of his hand, not sure whether he wiped off sweat or tears. This had been a real bummer of a day. "Did it work?"

"Yes," Cally said, bending over the instruments. "He's only asleep now." She knelt by Tarrant to run a hand-held monitor over him. "Was it bad?

"It wasn't a stroll in the park," Tarrant said, "but it could have been worse." **It could have been me, resolving my sexual hang-ups.** He thought of his sixth form gym teacher, and a certain rainy day spent on a pile of dirty sweatsox in the athletic equipment room and shuddered. Brr.

"It was bad enough," Dayna said, subdued. **I had to kiss Servalan. Yech.** She wondered if she could find a really big jug of Listerine to wash her mouth out with.

"Never again," Vila muttered. He shook his head. "I'm doing all my dreaming by myself from now on."

"On your duty watch, no doubt," came a familiar drawl .

"Avon? You're awake!" Tarrant said, leaping to his feet.

"Obviously." Avon sat up, and sighed as his crew gathered around him, hugging him en masse. "I could never have dreamed this," he said when they finally released him.

Cally grinned. " I wouldn't put anything past you."

Vila laughed out loud. "This calls for a celebration! I've got just the thing, a lovely bottle of Taurian ale that Tarrant's been saving for a special occasion."

"Er, Vila," Tarrant said quietly, "I think that bottle's gone right off."

"Nah, I just had some before Cally called us. Tasted fine, made me feel all warm and tingly inside-- inside..." Vila's eyes grew wide. "Tarrant!" he yelled, before running awkwardly toward the nearest lav.

Tarrant shrugged and rolled his eyes innocently as the other four stared at him. "There's an old saying that applies here, "Let the stealer beware."

"Auron sayings make more sense," Cally said. "For example..."

Avon said quickly, " I think I feel a relapse coming on." He reached out, gathered Cally in his arms, and kissed her.

Cally staggered when he let her go. "Well, if that is how you feel about old sayings..." she ran her fingers up his arm, "I have a copy of Bartlett's Quotations in my quarters."

Dayna entwined her arm with Tarrant's. "Oh, I'd love to read it. Wouldn't you, Tarrant?"

"Sounds very... uplifting," Tarrant said, with a grin.

"But what about Vila?" Cally asked.

"Who?" Avon said.


End file.
